


You Pull Me in and Let Me Drown

by honEy D (nitori_chan_san)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Betrayal, Blood Drinking, Doyoung Jeahyun and Winwin are vampires as well, Enemies to Strangers to Lovers to ?, Important side characters, M/M, Quite Dark, Tattoo Artist!Taeyong, Vampire diaries inspired, Vampires, Witches, hostility between species, human!Yuta, some exo members appear, vampire!Taeyong, werewolfs, witch!Taeil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2018-12-18 08:53:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11870877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitori_chan_san/pseuds/honEy%20D
Summary: The life of a vampire is not easy with werewolves, witches and lately a group of humans too, watching your every move and out there to kill you. Lee Taeyong, leader of a group of four vampires knows that all too well. Blood is getting harder to find and the temptation of feeding from living humans is getting more unbareable every day.One thing Taeyong knows for sure, family means everything to him. Blood-related or not, he will do anything to protect them and keep them from harms way. He will not let them turn into the monster he was all those years ago.The life of a human is somewhat easier, but not for Nakamoto Yuta. Because once you get involved with the supernatural world, there is no way out. And without special powers to protect himself, Yuta has to be smart and maybe even leave his humanity behind to survive...They will both find out that you're not responsible for who or what you are, but for the choices that you make.





	1. Capitulum I

**Author's Note:**

> soooo I started The Originals (a vampire diaries spin-off) a week ago and I suddenly felt the need to write a yutae vampire AU fic.
> 
> You don’t need to know about the series to understand:) Just know that vampires are stronger and faster than humans and that they can use mind compulsion to let humans do as they say. (by looking in the person’s eyes and lacing there voice with their vampire power). They also have self-healing powers
> 
> Enjoy dears~

_“Are you all in position?”_   Doyoung’s voice sounded through Taeyong’s earpiece.

“TY in position,” he replied curtly, but softly, confirming that he was ready for the moment Doyoung would give him the signal.

As the leader of their little group of four, Taeyong was always the first to answer. Doyoung was the one leading the mission, but he himself had taken on the hardest part. _He_ was the one that had to actually steal the blood bags. It wasn't like he didn't trust his family members to do it, but considering Sicheng's age, Jaehyun's previous failure and Doyoung, who was more valuable behind the scenes than in partaking in the action, he thought that, maybe, yes, he didn't fully trust his family to do the dirty work.

Taeyong was slowly losing trust in himself as well as just the thought of blood was enough to make his mind hazy and his stomach long for the red liquid.

They were vampires after all.

And hungry ones on top of that.

Taeyong was currently lying in the ventilation shaft of the local hospital. He was right above the hallway that was close to the door of the storage room, ready to take at least ten blood bags with him. He crawled a bit further, until he was right in front of the ventilator and stopped to take a screwdriver from inside his jacket.

It was a simple plan; Take as much blood bags as you can without being seen. If someone sees you, compel them to forget.

 _“Tae,”_ Doyoung called in his ear, _“the coast is clear. You can go.”_

Doyoung was currently monitoring the surveillance cameras. He was Taeyong’s best friend and the second oldest of their group, he himself being the oldest with an impressive 218 years of life experience. Well… 23 years of _life_ experience if he was being precise.

But that was the signal Taeyong had been waiting for and he quickly, but carefully, pried loose the ventilator panel with the screwdriver, cheering internally when it was done rather easily. It was awfully hot in the shaft and he had been there for way too long. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable crawling through a narrow channel either.

He moved the panel forward and put the screwdriver on top of it. Since it was too narrow to turn around, Taeyong first put his upper body through the opening, his hands still holding onto the edge. Then he let the rest of his body slip out of the shaft, not losing his grip on the edge. It was quite the strain on his fingers since the edge was sharp and cut into the flesh of his digits, but being a vampire had its perks. Besides being stronger than a regular human, they also had healing abilities.

He let himself hang on the edge until his feet were right beneath him and then he let go, landing on the floor almost gracefully. He wiped his slightly sweaty hands on his ripped jeans and leaned them on his thighs after.

“I’m in.”

 _“Good,”_ Doyoung’s voice came through immediately, as if he had been waiting for it. “ _Y_ _ou know where the door is. Be quick about it, I can only hold off the cameras for so long.”_

“Got it,” The pink haired vampire answered while allowing himself a moment to catch his breath and calm himself down. It didn’t matter how many times he had to do this. Stealing blood bags in a hospital always caused him to feel adrenaline going through his body. Not only that, he also still felt kind of bad for stealing blood that patients actually needed.

But, oh well… He too had a family to feed and to keep alive.

And to refrain them from becoming the monster he was once before, they needed this blood.

All of a sudden there was a sound of a rolling cart and Taeyong stiffened as his eyes fell on a young male turning the corner to the exact hallway he was standing in.

Wait. What was that guy doing here? Jaehyun had checked the cleaner’s schedules thoroughly... He couldn’t have made a mistake.

Then why was this guy cleaning the hallway?

 _“Shit!”_ Doyoung cursed in his ear, _“I swear I didn’t see him coming.”_ He heard him yell at Jaehyun in his ear about being irresponsible and then typing furiously.

The cleaner guy had now noticed Taeyong. He looked at him suspiciously, broom still in his hands. Their eyes met and to the vampire’s surprise the guy didn’t waste any time and walked right at him.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you!” He almost yelled. There was an angry expression on his face. Taeyong could do nothing but stand in the same spot, thinking of a plan on what to do next.

“Fuck. What do I do? He’s coming right at me,” Taeyong hissed, holding a hand to his ear.

 _“Compel him, Taeyong. I know it’ll weaken you, but we need the blood,"_ Doyoung said matter-of-factly. Well, that was easier said than done. Blood was scarce these days and Taeyong hadn’t fed for a long time, making him hungry and longing for fresh blood. It also made his vampire powers less effective. And compelling was normally very easy, especially as an older vampire and at full strength.

But Taeyong was anything _but_ at full strength.

Taeyong took a step backwards when he noticed the guy was finally standing in front of him, pointing at his chest.

“You’re one of them!” He said. “You’re one of those thieves, stealing all the fucking blood bags.”

Think, Taeyong, think.

But it was hard to think clearly, when a very handsome boy was yelling at you, smelling delicious. He could practically hear the blood pumping through the guy’s veins. Unconsciously his fangs popped out and his irises turned red.

The guy was obviously caught off guard and he, too, took a step backwards.

“Get away from here,” Taeyong tried to say threateningly, but his voice cracked from nervousness. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

And he really meant that. It wasn't his intention to hurt humans. It would make a mess and cause their whole mission to fail.

“I know you're a-“ The guy started,

_“Taeyong! What are you doing? Get the blood and freaking compel him already. We are taking too long.”_

“Yes! Geez I’m working on it,” he said louder than intended and the guy in front of him looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“You’re one of those filthy vampires, aren’t you?”

Taeyong’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-how do you know what I-“

But the guy didn’t let him finish as he lunged forward and punched him right in the face. Taeyong groaned and stumbled backwards. He heard his nose crack and a shot of pain went through his head.

Okay, now he was getting irritated. First this guy knew what he was and now he’s punching him without a reason? So, before the guy could hit him again, Taeyong stood up straight and pushed hard at the other’s chest, making him fly in the air after which his back hit the ground harshly. This time it was the cleaner who groaned and he stayed still on the floor, catching his breath.

Taeyong cracked his neck once and felt his vampire blood heal his nose. He didn’t need it for breathing anymore, but he liked the way his face looked, thank you very much.

_“Taeyong!”_

“Yes, yes, I know, Doyoung!” Taeyong said irritably while roughly opening the door of the storage room, ripping it straight out of its lock.

_“I don’t know what you are doing but-“_

Taeyong opened the cooling box in the back of the room forcefully. “Shut up for a moment. I’m not in the mood for your nagging. I’m working on it.”

_“Fuck you Lee Taeyong. I’m trying to look out for you, but if you’re-“_

 “That boy...” Taeyong interrupted him rudely while grabbing a few blood bags and stuffing them in a plastic bag, that he had taken out of the pocket of his jacket. “He knows what we are. How is that possible?”

Before he could hear Doyoung’s reply he heard the crack of wood and he whipped around with his vampire speed to see the same guy standing in the door opening. He was panting and looking straight at him with serious eyes. The room was dark, but the light in the hallway gave the male an almost intimidating silhouette.

But he was still a human.

Well... A human who just split his broom on his knee and was now holding the end of the broom as a stake in front of him.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Taeyong huffed. Yes, in theory it could kill him if it went through his heart.

But the guy was still a human. There was no way he was strong enough to even come near him. The pink haired vampire wasn’t stupid enough to let him that close again either. He sure had a strong right fist.

Taeyong gently put the plastic bag on the floor. The last thing he wanted was waste any more blood. Then he flexed his fingers next to his body. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he knew they were blood red.

The guy who had just acted so tough, had now trembling hands. But still he bravely held the wooden stake in front of him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Taeyong said. “I just want to take these bags and take them to my family.”

“There are more people who need that blood,” the guy said and he even walked closer to Taeyong. “People in this exact hospital, fighting for their lives. Lives you don’t have anymore.”

Interesting.

_“Taeyong if you don’t come out of that hospital in two minutes, I’m calling for back-up. Sicheng’s been dying for some human blood.”_

Taeyong sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. He had no time for this.

“How do you know about us?” he asked.

“I have my sources,” the guy said with a grin, but then his face changed to a furious glint, that looked rather ugly on his handsome features, and speeded forward, stake in front of him.

Taeyong took a deep breath and when the stranger was not further than a meter away from him, he kicked his leg high in the air, hitting the other’s hand hard and making the stake fly out of his hand. the guy cried out in pain as he gripped his bruised wrist with his other hand. Then, Taeyong used his right hand and wrapped it around the guy’s throat, pushing him against the wall with speedy movements.

The guy choked when his back hit the wall and Taeyong’s hand cut off his air. He struggled against the vampire’s hold, but Taeyong held him tightly as he stood right in front of him. The guy’s hands wrapped themselves around Taeyong’s arm trying to move it away, but the vampire was too strong.

Taeyong bowed his face closer to the guy’s. To his shock there was a little blood on the other’s lip, due to biting it too hard and Taeyong gulped, an intense hunger filling his body and mind. His fangs popped out and he stared at the other’s lips intensely.

He wanted it.

He wanted every fucking drop of blood this guy had to give.

“L-let me f-fucking go,” the guy said with a strained voice and it shook Taeyong out of his trance.

“What’s your name?”

“Like I’m going to-“

“What. Is. Your. Name,” Taeyong growled in his face, his eyes spitting fire. He didn’t want backup to come. It would only get their already small group in more trouble. And Sicheng was young. Taeyong didn’t trust him with a bleeding human yet.

“Y-Yuta,” the guy almost spit out.

“Alright Yuta, now look in my eyes.”

“Fuck you, you’re gonna use that trick on me and tell me to forget everything. Like hell I will.”

Taeyong sighed heavily while lifting Yuta higher against the wall by his throat so that only his toes were touching the floor. “I could also rip you apart right here, so it’s really your choice.” The other just tried to shake his head, holding Taeyong’s arm in a vice grip.

He saw the guy called Yuta struggle with the decision and Taeyong pitied him a little. He was somewhere in his low twenties, Taeyong guessed, and he still had a bright life in front of him. It was dangerous for a human to meddle with the supernatural. This guy was getting himself in danger by doing so. Taeyong wasn’t planning on killing him, but he didn’t know how long he could hold himself back from feeding if he was honest.

In an instant Yuta looked up and with his mouth in a thin line he looked Taeyong straight in the eye, not blinking, not flinching at the sight of the deep red orbs. And for a moment the vampire was caught off guard by the intense stare. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Yuta’s eyes were a dark brown color and he couldn’t help but wonder if they would sparkle when he smiled.

He shook his head and let his vampire power lace into his voice as he said his next words.

“Okay Yuta, listen to me,” and he immediately saw Yuta’s eyes become glassy as he listened intently. “Good. First, you need to give me a few answers okay? Then I’ll let you go.”

Yuta nodded. Taeyong let Yuta down and took away his hand from the human’s throat. He couldn’t attack him like that after all. Taeyong took him by the shoulders and kept looking in his eyes. “First of all, how do you know about us?”

Without hesitation Yuta answered.

“You always steal blood bags here. I regularly take a look at the surveillance cameras. You never leave a trace, but I’m pretty good with computers.”

“And how do you know we are vampires?”

“I’m part of a-“

_“I’m done with waiting, Sicheng is coming your way.”_

Fuck. Taeyong let out an annoyed groan. If he answered Doyoung now the compelling would stop working and he wasn’t powerful enough at the moment to do it again.

“Okay Yuta,” he started seriously. There was no time for more questions, he had to make him forget quickly. “Forget you’ve seen me here. Forget I was a vampire. If someone asks you what happened, you’ll tell them it was a thief who stole the blood to sell it at the black market. That last part is what you came up with. You tried to stop him, but he was too strong.” Then he bit his lip. “Vampires don’t exist. You’ve never seen one, nor suspected they existed. You will go home quietly in ten minutes.” There was no harm in protecting the human from further engagement in vampire business. He was lucky that it was _him_ Yuta encountered and not another vampire, who liked to kill humans for fun.

When he was done with talking, he pushed himself away from Yuta and stumbled backwards, holding his head. It had taken a lot of his power. He saw the human male collapse on the floor, letting out a pained whine when his hand, that Taeyong had previously kicked at, hit the ground.

Should he have said something about how he hurt his hand in his compulsion?

“Taeyong-hyung~”

 And of course that was the moment Sicheng was showing up.

“Doyoung, I was in the middle of a fucking compulsion,” Taeyong said furiously. “There was no need to bring in the youngster.”

_“He was turned twenty years ago, don’t be like that.”_

“you know what I mean,” Taeyong huffed.

Suddenly the delicious scent of blood hit the air. His head whipped around to see Yuta staring at him in confusion. Taeyong could only draw closer as the smell lured him in. When he was near the human, he saw that there was some blood in the palm of his hand, coming from a little crescent shaped wound. Yuta had probably dug his fingernails into his palm a little too hard.

He heard Doyoung yelling in his ear, but the only thing Taeyong could hear, could see and smell was Yuta’s blood.

He wanted it.

He needed it.

Without a second thought he grabbed Yuta’s shoulder and took him to the other side of the room behind a closet with his vampire speed. He held a hand over Yuta’s mouth.

“Stay silent. If he hears you, you’re dead,” he whispered against the human’s ear.

The sound of a happy humming filled the silent hallway. “Taeyong-hyung~, where are you?” and the last words were dragged out in a sing-sang voice.

“Call him back, Doyoung,” Taeyong whispered. “I’ll be there in two minutes. Don’t worry about me. But I’m serious, Sicheng will ruin everything. I don’t want to cover any more deaths.” At the last part Yuta obviously became distressed, but Taeyong held the guy in a vice grip.

_“Fine. Two minutes. But after that, we need to have a talk.”_

“Sure.” And with that he ripped the earpiece out of his ear and put it in his pocket.

“Aww, I just wanted to play with hyung,” came the disappointed voice from the hallway. Taeyong was really glad the other hadn’t seen him with a human. It was a hard thing, getting a young vampire under control.

And Sicheng definitely didn’t have that control.

While the originally Chinese vampire left the compound, Taeyong’s focus was solely on the human, that he was still holding tightly. Since the guy was around the same height as him, his mouth was already close to his neck.

And that was a bad thing.

Because Taeyong could hear the other’s fast heartbeat, felt him struggle against him. He had had self-control this whole time and he normally had self-control in _any_ situation. But right now, not having fed directly from a human for so long, and having a human who’s blood smelled this delicious right under his nose, was even for an older vampire as himself too much.

He took Yuta’s chin between his fingers and forced him to look at him. Yes, technically he was too weak to compel him again, but after feeding that problem would be solved. If he wasn’t so hungry, he would almost feel ashamed of his lack of class and control.

Yuta didn’t try to avoid eye contact. He had been compelled to forget that he ever knew vampires existed in the first place. Taeyong was panting as he lowly said his next words.

“Don’t move and don’t make a sound.”

Yuta nodded, his eyes widening in fear nonetheless. Taeyong couldn’t take away someone’s fears and to be honest he liked it like this more, knowing the other feared him, loathed him. Call it a sick personality treat, but it reminded him of what he was and what he had done in the past.

With his own back against the side of the closet and Yuta against him, he pulled the human’s body as close as possible and buried his face in his neck. He took in the scent and it was easy to find the place of the artery with the way Yuta’s blood was pumping through it loudly. At that moment, no human had smelled so good as this Yuta did. His fangs were out in no time and a surge of an animalistic instinct took over his body as his fangs pierced the white skin of Yuta’s neck.

The other jumped at the feeling, his whole body tensing up and a pained gasp escaping his plump lips, not allowed to let out any louder noises.

Taeyong couldn’t care less. As he sucked on the skin roughly and the blood hit his tongue, it was the best thing he had had in years. No blood bag or animal body could beat the feeling of warm, fresh human blood. He placed his lips firmer on Yuta’s skin and pushed his fangs a little deeper into the artery. In return Yuta reached behind him to grab the fabric of his jacket tightly, his mouth opening in a silent cry.

Taeyong didn’t want to stop drinking, he just wanted to suck every last bit of blood out of him.

But when he felt the latter getting heavier in his hold, on the brink of unconsciousness, there was still a rational part of him that made him retreat from the human’s neck. Taeyong felt like reborn. Feeding directly from humans was something he missed. Doyoung wouldn’t be happy if he found out, or rather _when_ he’d find out. but right now he felt like the powerful vampire he was supposed to be.

He quickly turned Yuta around and let their eyes meet again, lacing his voice with his power yet again.

“You will forget that this happened and you will leave the hospital after five minutes to go home.”

Yuta nodded and Taeyong had to tear his eyes away from the human’s mouth, soft pants escaping his wet lips. His eyes were teary from fear and the strange, painful experience and Taeyong considered taking him with him to the others. He was pretty and his blood had been amazing. He was sure Doyoung would hate it, but love and appreciate it at the same time.

He shook his head.

But that would only cause more problems.

So he dropped Yuta and quickly walked to the plastic bag he set down earlier, to fill it with some more blood bags.

“W-who are you?”

Taeyong looked over his shoulder to see Yuta sitting against the wall looking at him like he was figuring out what was happening. The pink haired vampire just grinned at the human.

“I’m the embodiment of your greatest nightmare.”

And with that, Taeyong threw the bag over his shoulder and used his vampire speed to disappear from the human’s sight, back to the place where his family was waiting.

 

* * *

 

“What the fuck were you thinking, Taeyong!” Doyoung fumed at him as soon as he reached their hiding spot, being a black car parked around the corner of the hospital. “You almost made our mission fail! We need that blood.”

Taeyong huffed as he buckled his seatbelt and offered his hand with the bag of blood bags to the backseat. It was immediately taken out of his grasp.

“Only one, Sicheng,” Taeyong warned the younger vampire quickly.

Sicheng whined in protest, but still only took one of the blood bags out of the bag, passing it to Jaehyun who was seated next to him right after.

“You reek of fucking human blood, care to explain?” Doyoung said irritably as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Taeyong turned to his friend.

“I knew what I was doing. I got the bags. I don’t see why you’re so mad.”

Doyoung looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious? You were there for at least fifteen minutes, in which you could’ve been discovered by more people. I can’t wipe all of the camera footage, I don’t have the equipment for that. You trusted me with leading the mission. But if you’re ignoring what I’m saying anyway, what’s the freaking point?”

Taeyong felt slightly guilty at that. “I know,” he said softly. “It won’t happen again.”

 Doyoung groaned. “And on top of that you fed from that guy. I can’t believe it. Wasn’t it _you,_ who said we needed to try stop feeding on people?”

“How did you-“

“Hyung,” Jaehyun called from the backseat. “You still have his blood on your face.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened at that and he quickly wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. “Okay, yes, I fed from him,” he admitted with a hint of embarrassment. “But I can’t be a reliable leader like this. How can I protect you when I can’t even compel twice without getting a headache? Without our powers we’re just humans without a heartbeat.”

It was silent in the car after that.

“Then maybe,” Jaehyun started, “maybe we should start feeding on humans again.”

It was a dangerous, but tempting thought. Taeyong could see Doyoung lick his lips unconsciously.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Sicheng said with a smile and Taeyong was again surprised at the younger’s cuteness. But it was a mistake to think he was a cute being, because Sicheng was a ruthless vampire when hungry. They all were, but Sicheng had something wicked, an almost dangerous aura surrounding him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Doyoung said with a sigh. “We’ll be found out in no time. Be it by humans, other vampires, werewolves, witches… They’ll kill us. And we will kill in return and I’ve done enough of that.” the last part was said slightly regretful. Taeyong agreed wholeheartedly. Whereas he loved the taste of blood, killing was something entirely different and the pain of making someone lose their life was something that never really went away, no matter how many years passed.

“We’re not going to go back to feeding from humans,” Taeyong said resolutely. “But on the day before the full moon, every month, we’ll make an exception.”

“Have you lost your mind Taeyong?” Doyoung said, but he was biting his lip in a way that let the oldest know that he didn’t actually mind the idea that much.

“No. We need strength and the day before the full moon is the day every werewolf is busy preparing for their transformation on the next day. They will be too busy to hunt for us.” Werewolves were the most dangerous to vampires. They were the only creatures that could kill them with just a bite.

“Doyoung… He has a point,” Jaehyun said while putting his hands on Doyoung’s seat and leaning forward so that his head was in the space between the two front seats. “We can’t live like this.”

“Shut up. First learn to control yourself around humans, then we’ll talk.”

“You know I’m right, Doyoung,” Taeyong said to his friend. “We just split up the youngsters under the two of us, to guide them. We can’t keep them from feeding forever.”

Doyoung started the car and drove away from the parking spot. Without looking away from the road he said,

“Fine, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”

The three of them let out a sigh of relief and Taeyong smiled a soft smile as he let himself sink into his seat, pulling the hood of his jacket over his fluffy pink hair. He looked out of the window, watching the buildings and other cars whip past. Yuta’s blood had made him a lot more confident.

This mission was completed and he even convinced Doyoung to let them feed on human’s again.

But somewhere he had a feeling that he had forgotten something important. He shrugged it off. The night had just started and there were a lot of things Taeyong still had to take care of.

 

* * *

 

When the door of his apartment fell closed behind him, Yuta’s head snapped up. He blinked a few times, looking around to figure out where he was. He was obviously home. But how did he get here? It was an uncomfortable feeling, not knowing what happened. One moment he was cleaning in the hospital, the next he was here…

On top of that, he was feeling terribly weak.

He hung up his jacket and walked to his kitchen to get something sugary from the fridge. Once there his eyes fell on a few sticky notes, plastered on his fridge haphazardly. His heart started beating a little faster when he read the freaky messages;.

‘VAMPIRES EXIST’

‘THEY COMPELLED YOU TO FORGET THEIR EXISTENCE’

‘CALL BAEKHYUN’

Yuta read the messages, that he had obviously written himself, with a frown on his face. Vampires? What rudiculousness was that? He quickly opened the fridge to take out a can of coke. While drinking from it he opened the drawer for his utensils. There was an old phone in it, a phone he only needed for emergencies.

And that mostly had to do with supernatural stuff.

Byun Baekhyun was a powerful witch that he somehow got affiliated with along the way. If it was true, that vampires did exist… Then Baekhyun could certainly tell him all about it.

He went through his contacts and pressed the call button when he reached Baekhyun’s name.

The witch picked up at the fourth ring.

 _“Ah, Yuta-ya, what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”_ Came the almost whiny voice of Baekhyun through his phone. Yuta felt his cheeks heathen up in embarrassment at the accusation. Well, he wasn’t wrong entirely.

“Hyung… I- I don’t really know what happened, but it feels like I’m missing some information on my way back from work. I don’t remember what happened. And when I came home there was a note…” He let a short break fall, not really knowing what to say. He settled for the direct question. “Hyung do vampires exist?”

Baekhyun laughed at that. A loud and almost cute laugh. But if you knew Baekhyun like Yuta did, you would know that the cute exterior was just a cover for his dangerous and almost sadistic personality.

_“Yes, Yuta. Wew you’re really funny.”_

“I’m serious here.”

Baekhyun snorted. _“Of course you are.”_   Then his tone turned more serious, _“My darling, vampires do exist. Sadly. In fact, you encountered them today and were probably compelled to forget.”_

“That’s what one of my notes said as well...” Yuta said, surprised at the other’s words.

With a sigh Baekhyun said his next words, _“This is really funny, because you’re in fact gathering information about vampires for your little group of rebels… well… you’ll remember soon enough. I don’t have time to come to you, but I’ll send Taeil to undo the compulsion.”_

Yuta was only more confused at that. “Group? What?”

_“Oh boy… the spell is deeper than I thought. I’m sorry, but it’s gonna hurt like a bitch. well, I have to go now. Taeil will be there in a about twenty minutes. Oh and don’t shower.”_

What was he talking about. “And why can’t I?” he said almost irritably.

_“Undoing that vampire’s power is… Let me put it this way. You will suffer and sweat a lot. Don’t worry, Taeil knows what he’s doing, but yeah… bye Yukkuri~ I’ll see you soon.”_

“Wait! Baekhyun-hyung?!” Yuta practically yelled in his phone, but the witch had already hung up.

Great. Just great. That explained a fucking lot.

He put some bangs from his face with his hand, but pain rippled through it when he moved it and he shot an angry glare at his wrist.

Suddenly the room spun around him and he felt a sting on his neck. He held his head with one hand, stumbling over to the bathroom. Somehow he needed to look in the mirror. When he reached the bathroom and looked at his reflection his mouth opened in shock as he saw two puncture wounds on his neck. They were suspiciously close to each other and it looked just like…

The mark of fangs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg I am so sorry. I have no idea where the plot will lead to. I was just really thirsty for some kind of vampire AU. I wrote this on a whim, so I’m sorry for any mistakes. This was also a test for me if I could make something a little more action-packed for a change.  
> (also, no I have no idea why Taeyong had to be crawling through an airvent, nor do I know if those things even exist in hospitals, but I just liked to write that scene okay??XD)
> 
> Should I continue it? Feedback is always welcome:) also if there’s something confusing, don’t be afraid to ask.  
> (Also for the people wondering, the last chapter for Bet and Regret is in the making, don't worry!;))
> 
> thank you for reading this mess. Love you all.  
> In case people are interested, this is [my twitter](https://twitter.com/softyukkuri) ^-^  
> ~honEy D


	2. Capitulum II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the late update! This story suddenly started to become really complicated in my head, so it gave me some difficulties lmao.
> 
> To clear some confusion. Humans don’t turn into vampires when they’re bitten by one, nor do they die. Human blood is merely food for vampires. A human is turned into a vampire only when they die with vampire blood in their system.  
> Enjoy this chapter lovelies~

Yuta panted heavily with an arm covering his eyes. He was currently lying on the floor of his apartment, covered in a layer of sweat, asking himself what he had done to deserve this. In order to regain his memories and to undo the compulsion by the vampire, a heavy and complicated spell was used. Nobody ever told him that it would be so painful. 

He felt a hand awkwardly pat his head two times.

“There, there. It’s all done.”

“Don’t act like you’re not enjoying this Taeil-hyung. All you witches are the same sadistic bunch,” Yuta almost groaned from his position. He let his arm fall from his eyes to the floor tiredly and stared up at the shorter witch that was now standing and looking down at him.

Taeil rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Don’t be so dramatic.”  Then he sighed and walked over to one of the chairs, belonging to the small dinner table, and sat down on it. “It’s not only tiring for you, believe me.”

Yuta sat upright and wiped the sweat from his face with his shirt. “Well yeah, but you’re not the one that’s experiencing the excruciating pain here,” He said back.

“You’re the one that got yourself into vampire trouble. So tell me now I’m here anyway. What was that all about?”

Yuta let out a huff and dragged a hand through his wet hair. He desperately needed a shower, but he guessed he kind of owed it to Taeil to at least tell him why he was here in the first place. His hand went to his neck on instinct, where he knew the fang marks were still situated. He shuddered. That bastard. While Taeil was torturing him with the spell, memories of the events of the day slowly came back to him, including his knowledge of the existence of vampires. He smiled grimly. He could remember everything.

“I was on a mission today,” He began. “You know that I temporarily work with that bunch of crazy people, right?”

“The group of humans that is basically trying to wipe the city from every supernatural creature, including witches. Yes, I know, Yuta, Baekhyun-hyung told me,” Taeil said, half accusingly.

“It’s only for a short time. I need the money,” Yuta defended himself. It was a weak argument, but it had to do.  “Well, anyway. They had this information about a group of vamps that steal blood bags from the hospital so every now and then. Normally, they only use me for hacking purposes, but I was actually already paying attention to this group for a while myself, so I decided to take on the mission. Turns out, I actually met the leader today. And he was old, Taeil, and strong. Even though he should’ve been weakened by the lack of blood, he was awfully strong.”

“You’re an idiot, Yuta. You can’t just freelance your way through life and hunt vampires,” Taeil said with a sigh.

“Are you worried about me?” Yuta asked the witch with a grin.

A hollow laugh. “You wish. I’m just done dealing with you. Baekhyun always sends me to do the dirty work and I feel like I’m getting myself into danger when I’m with you. And my instincts are always right.”

“You know I would never do anything to you. I’ve proven my loyalty enough,” Yuta quickly said.

Taeil rolled his eyes. “I’m not afraid of _you_. I’m more afraid of that group you’re working with. If they find out you have connections with one of the strongest witch clans, they’ll hunt you down and us right after. I’ve seen them do some dirty stuff. Last week they killed two vampires and a werewolf.”

“They actually took the werewolf as a prisoner,” Yuta said back with a sigh. “I’m not allowed to go inside the dungeons, but I bet they’re holding a lot of others there as well.”

“So?” Taeil asked after a short silence had fallen. “What are you going to do now?”

Yuta stood up and walked to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water. He opened the lid and took a greedy gulp. Then he shrugged.

“I don’t really have a choice but to continue the mission. They’re expecting me to get more information. Luckily that vampire wasn’t really bright, because I was able to steal the earpiece he was wearing from his pocket while he was feeding on me. I might even remember some names if I dig deep enough.”

“Gross,” Taeil said and scrunched his face.

“Tell me about it,” Yuta agreed with a dramatic hand gesture. “He was also stupid enough to not heal the puncture marks. If he had healed them, I might’ve really forgotten about everything, but this just pulled on my memories even more. Well, I’m not complaining.”

Another slightly awkward silence fell between the two. “Yuta,” Taeil began seriously, “you know Baekhyun is going to ask you to do some things for him in return right? He’s fond of you, but he doesn’t do stuff for free. And neither should I.”

Yuta felt a headache coming up at that. Of fucking course. He should’ve known. Well, it was his own fault. When he took a look at Taeil, he saw the latter leaning heavily in the chair. He was obviously drained of energy by the strong spell to get _his_ memories back.

“What do you want me to do?”

Taeil studied him. “Make this your last mission for this group. This is _my_ request. Not Baekhyun’s. believe me or not, it’s in both your and our interests. They are dangerous.”

Yuta hesitated. “You sure? I mean… I’m sure Baekhyun-hyung would love to know more about who and what they’re holding and doing in that dungeon.”

Taeil stood up and walked to the old dark blue couch where his jacket was laying. He put it on. Then he looked at Yuta again. “Hyung’s not here right now, so he has nothing to demand from you.” He walked to the door. Yuta followed him silently.

“This is my demand. Stop, before someone gets hurt, or killed.” And Taeil was looking right at him.

Yuta couldn’t really deny Taeil anything.

Taeil then reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed Yuta a contact lens case. Yuta looked at the witch questioningly and took the case in his hand.

“These are lenses, specifically made to prevent vampires from compelling you. Or, in theory they could try to compel you, but it wouldn’t work. Put them in, all the time.” Yuta’s eyes widened and he opened the case to see two grey lenses floating in fluid.

He took a step towards the witch and punched his shoulder lightly. “Aw Taeil-hyung, you actually _do_ care. But seriously, thanks. I will use them.”

“I wouldn’t say it was a pleasure, because it simply was not, but… be careful.”

Yuta smiled at that. Taeil was a softie if he wanted to be. He had known Taeil for three years now and, even though their relationship was hardly something to call friendship, Yuta knew Taeil had a soft spot for him somewhere, just as he had a soft spot for the short witch.

“Got it,” he said back with a playful wink.

Taeil rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile around his lips. Without saying anything else he opened the door and walked out of Yuta’s apartment, into the night, back to his own home. Yuta quickly closed the door and locked it.

Not a moment later his phone lit up on the dinner table. He briefly wondered if the universe really hated him this much to not give him a second to recover or rest.

He walked to the table and unlocked his phone.

 **Unknown:** _tomorrow meeting at 8 pm, coordinates will follow._

Yuta sighed. Barely ten seconds later he indeed got the coordinates. Then he got another message.

 **Unknown:** _be on time Nakamoto_

Yuta bit his lip. They were annoying. Even if they were humans, even if he should identify himself with them more, in theory, he didn’t. They were creepy in the way they talked and handled and Yuta couldn’t care less about anyone in that group of people. He decided that he’d take Taeil’s advice to heart.

This would be his last mission for this group.

 

* * *

 

“Please tell me you didn’t,” Doyoung asked Taeyong incredulously. “Please tell me you didn’t lose the earpiece. You’re lucky you’re a vampire, Taeyong, because otherwise I would’ve killed you on the spot.”

Taeyong had his face buried in his hands, his elbows leaning on the small wooden table. They had returned from their ‘blood bag mission’ and were currently in their small cozy apartment, which was situated above the tattoo shop that Taeyong owned. It was just out of the city, in a pretty poor neighborhood with quite some criminal activity going on.

But as four male vampires that was the least of their worries.

Taeyong let out a frustrated groan. “Sorry, I really thought I put it in my pocket.”

Doyoung hit the table with his hand. “Do you know how much it cost to have it made? We don’t have that money. And all because _you_ wanted to bite that hot boy’s neck.”

“Ah, Doyoung, don’t exaggerate...” Taeyong said. His friend was obviously in a bad mood. 

“I still don’t get why we’re here, when you have a luxurious mansion not too far away? I know you actually used to have a lot of money, hyung,” Jaehyun interrupted them from his spot on the couch. Sicheng, who had his legs draped over Jaehyun’s lap, head lying on the armrest, hummed in agreement.

“Oh sure,” Doyoung spat sarcastically, “let’s live in one of the largest and most prominent houses in town when we’re being chased by werewolves, humans, witches, oh and other vampires, who are older than all of us.”

Taeyong looked up at Doyoung and felt his growing frustration. He stood up and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Let’s stay calm, okay. I know I fucked up. I’ll just work harder in the shop.” Doyoung was right, they shouldn’t go to _that_ mansion right now, it would be suicide. But Taeyong also knew Doyoung wasn’t keen on returning there for a whole different reason.

“Okay, okay,” Jaehyun said with his hands up. “But you have another bank account with savings right? Can’t you just use some of that money?”

“No,” Taeyong said this time. “We need to keep a low profile and _learn_ how to keep a low profile. Remember that we live forever, Jaehyun. We can always go back living a rich lifestyle, but right now, we need to make sure we actually _do_ live forever.”

Jaehyun just huffed and let himself fall sideways, basically on top of Sicheng who whined in protest. Taeyong watched the two with a fond expression. He nudged Doyoung, who’s shoulders were a little less tense than before. In a whisper he started talking.

“Full moon will be next week. That means in six days you can finally feed on a human again.” He linked his arm through Doyoung’s, leaning his head on his shoulder. “You’ll feel a lot stronger and confident after that, I promise you.”

Doyoung groaned. “Don’t act like I’m so thirsty for blood.”

“You’re a lot more tense than usual, even Jaehyun notices that you snap at him more often.”

His words pulled a sigh from Doyoung. “I don’t know what it is lately...” He whispered after a moment of silence, “I’m just. I feel like I’m not myself and disappoint you all in the process. You protect us all the time, but I’m Jaehyun’s maker… I should be able to protect him myself, but lately I can’t even have my emotions under control.” Taeyong understood him. He himself had felt that he lacked as a leader so many times. But they were a team. They had been for so long.

“Don’t be like that,” Taeyong shot back, looking at the two younger vampires who were now playing on Sicheng’s phone together. “You’re doing better than you think. Jaehyun was turned somewhere after World War II, right? He’s old enough to rely on himself. You taught him well, Doyoungie. You can put your trust in him a little more.”

Taeyong noticed the fond look Doyoung shot at his dongsaeng. It was more than just fondness. Their unresolved feelings were a touchy subject and Taeyong was wise enough not to mention anything at the moment. Maybe after Doyoung fed he would finally confront him with it.

Doyoung pushed him away softly and playfully. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Lee Taeyong, you still need to work your ass off to pay for another earpiece. I still don’t get how you lost it in the first place.”

Taeyong bit his lip. To be honest there was no way he could’ve lost it. He had closed his pocket. It wasn’t logical that it had fallen out.

Could it be…

His thoughts briefly went back to the Yuta boy he fed on. There was something fishy about him. He remembered the other wanting to tell him something, before Doyoung interrupted him. But he compelled him right? So he didn’t need to worry…

Right?

“I want blood,” Sicheng called from the couch. Taeyong sighed and rubbed his temple. On a dark day in his life, around twenty years ago, he turned Sicheng. Even as a human being, Sicheng had been… odd, to say the least. He was cute, but sadistic through and through. Of course it had something to do with his terrible past, but still. Taeyong loved him with all his heart and he would do anything to protect him from doing the wrong things.

It was a really hard task though. Sicheng was always hungry and always craved blood. A few years ago he killed two humans before Taeyong had even a chance to react. Luckily, those were the only humans who lost their lives on the Chinese vampire’s hands. or fangs better to say.

Taeyong opened the fridge and threw Sicheng a blood bag. “Slowly, okay? We don’t have a lot left and we need to last at least another six days with what we have.”

“Why do we have to wait that long?” Jaehyun asked, “I know you picked the day before the full moon, so that the werewolves would be too busy preparing for their change to hunt us, but does it really matter that much?”

“Jaehyun, you can be glad we’re even doing this at all. So stop complaining,” Doyoung shot at him. Taeyong groaned internally.  

“Complaining?” Jaehyun said with a laugh, “I’ve been with you for decades and I’m seriously getting tired of staying low profile. It’s all I’ve done since I’ve met you. We are vampires, we are stronger than the others,” Jaehyun said.

Taeyong closed his eyes as he knew what was coming next.

“Then leave if you hate it so much,” Doyoung said angrily. ”Go ahead, I won’t stop you.” All of Taeyong’s efforts to calm his friend down were ruined. “Instead of complaining, you should be thanking us to have protected you all this time,” Doyoung continued.

Jaehyun pulled himself up in a sitting position and stood up right after.  He gestured to the room “What’s the point of living forever, if it’s not a life. We’re running. Constantly. Drinking from these blood bags. This isn’t…” and he looked right in Doyoung’s eyes.

“This isn’t what you promised me.”

Taeyong quickly shot a look at Doyoung who took a step backwards, a hurt look on his face. But before he could say something, Jaehyun realized that he had gone too far with that.

“I’m sorry, you know I-“

“No _I’m_ sorry. I’m sorry for ruining your life. I should’ve never turned you into a vampire,” Doyoung said with a soft monotonous voice, but Taeyong saw his friend swallowing heavily and balling his fists.

There was a shocked silence.

Then Doyoung walked into their shared bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

“Where the fuck did that come from,” Jaehyun said through gritted teeth. Even Sicheng was sitting upright with a worried expression.

Taeyong dragged a hand through his pink strands. “He didn’t mean it like that. He’s just- We’re all just tired and drained. Let’s just go to sleep and talk things through tomorrow.”

Jaehyun shook his head and walked to his and Sicheng’s bedroom. He turned around before  entering. “I know enough. He still doesn’t trust me. I’m a vampire, but I’m in control. Have been for a while…” he grabbed the doorknob tightly, before continuing. “I don’t know how long I can keep doing this. You want to protect us, but you can’t. who knows a werewolf bites me tomorrow. I’ll be dead and I’ve never lived the life I wanted. I rather die knowing that I’ve truly lived, than live a long life, imprisoned.”

And with that Jaehyun stepped inside the bedroom and closed the door.

Taeyong stared at the ceiling. A headache was coming and he felt a little nauseous. There was a point to what Jaehyun was saying. But throwing it at them like this, out of the blue, while everyone was having a hard time, wasn’t fair.

For the first time Taeyong felt like they were falling apart as a group.

Suddenly a hand touched his and his eyes met Sicheng’s. “I’m sorry hyung, I keep asking for blood… From now on I’ll take less.” Taeyong was surprised for a moment, but he shook his head and shot the younger vampire a gentle smile.

“It’s okay, we’re all gonna be okay,” he said while patting Sicheng’s head a few times. He knew the other was searching for his comfort after Doyoung’s and Jaehyun’s hard words.

They were a family. And he would do anything to keep them together.

 

* * *

 

The upbeat elevator music stood in bright contrast with Yuta’s mood. He was currently on his way to a meeting with the group he currently worked for, which took place on the third floor of an abandoned flat somewhere in the outskirts of the big city. It had already been hell to get to the location, resulting in him being late by ten minutes.

Could they blame him though? Taxi drivers didn’t seem to know about the place and his own car was currently at the garage since his headlights needed replacement. So he had to take the metro _and_ bus. To make it worse, he had to walk an additional twenty minutes through a poor neighborhood that didn’t seem really safe walking through as a mere human.

These guys were crazy.

As the elevator arrived at the third floor and the doors slid open, he was immediately grabbed by the wrist by a tall guy and taken to the nearest office.

“Hey, what the fuck?!” Yuta said as he tried to pull his arm out of the other’s grip. But then he was already released and pushed into a big room, occupied by a large oval table that was surrounded by around ten people.

As he regained his footing from the stumbling, Yuta shot another glare at the tall guy. Another man scraped his throat.

“You’re late again, Nakamoto, as expected of a freelancer.” The tone was mocking and Yuta, not in the mood for mockery, whipped around annoyed.

“Well what do you expect? This neighborhood sucks balls and you know it.”

“This place is perfectly fine, now sit down Yuta,” the man he remembered was called Sooman said.

Without further protest Yuta let himself fall down in the empty chair.

“Since you were late, let’s start with you today, Nakamoto-san,” Sooman said as he put his hands together. “I hope you have useful information this time.”

Yuta narrowed his eyes. This Sooman guy may be creepy and the leader of this bunch, Yuta still wasn’t going to let people treat him like this. So he shrugged and rolled his chair backwards to put his feet on the table. Shocked looks were visible all around him and Yuta couldn’t help but enjoy it.

“I _always_ have useful information,” he said and then he reached for the pocket of his jacket and carefully placed the earpiece on the table so that everyone could see it.

“I have this.”

“And what is it?” A woman asked.

“It’s an earpiece one of the vampires was wearing on the night I encountered one in the hospital. They used it to communicate. _Obviously_. I could also hear two names that were called through it. One was Doyoung, he seemed to be important, the other was Sicheng and the vampire that was talking about him was afraid he would kill a human if he saw one, thus concluding, he’s dangerous.”

There was a silence. Mouths were agape left and right and even Sooman seemed impressed. Yuta smirked triumphantly.

“How did you get that?” Sooman asked as he pointed to the earpiece and Yuta felt like he needed to be careful with his next information. He couldn’t tell them he was compelled and that Taeil helped him regain his memories.

“I spied on them. I wanted to fight him, but the one I encountered was their leader. He was old and strong and there was no way I could win from him in a fight. I can tell you what he looked like. He had pink hair and-“

“I don’t care about that. To the point. How did you get that earpiece?” Sooman asked demandingly but calm and Yuta gulped at the stare that seemed to see right through him, as if he knew. He removed his feet from the table and retook his composure.

“He got annoyed at his friend and pulled it out. Later it fell out of his pocket. I retrieved it after he left.”

“Pretty cowardly, don’t you think?” Sooman said back. “And, Yuta, you don’t seem like a coward to me, do you?”

Yuta gritted his teeth. “Does it matter? I got you this. You tell me what’s next, so that I can get on my way.”

“Kris, get the witch,” Sooman demanded with a loud voice, not losing eye contact with Yuta. The tall guy nodded and left the room. Sooman continued. “You think you can get away so easily, Yuta? We are one, and, as fellow humans, we need to keep an eye out for each other. You’re part of our family now.”

A shiver ran down Yuta’s spine. “Hmm I pass. I will finish this mission. Bring in more information, whate-“

“Not just information, you will help me capture and kill them. That’s your new mission.”

“N-new mission?” Yuta sputtered. “I’m not interested in whatever dark things you have going on here. I’m just here for gathering intel.” This was going the wrong way. He felt like standing up and running away. He didn’t though. Sooman would never leave him just like that. So he spoke his next words a little more carefully.

“I wasn’t aware of this new mission. I’m not part of this group and I don’t have interest in becoming a member. I’m just here for the quick money. You now this. I’m quick and trustworthy and-“

“Are you?” Sooman asked him, “Are you trustworthy, Nakamoto Yuta?” Then the older man stood up and paced around calmly. “As I said before, we are a family. And I don’t like to put them in danger. Do you think I can just put my fate in a freelancer who happens to know about the supernatural? I don’t think so. You need to gain my trust, Yuta. Once you have it, the money is yours, protection is assured.”

It sounded so easy, but this was exactly what Yuta _didn’t_ want. He didn’t want to be bounded by people he didn’t know. He wanted to be free on his own. But Taeil had been right. It had been a mistake to associate with these people.

It was a bit of a late realization.

“Why would I lie to you?” Yuta defended himself. “I’m here to help you, remember, not fuck you over. I’m a human too. I’m not a traitor.”

“Finish this mission and I believe you. You’re free to go after that,” Sooman shot back just as quickly.

There was no room for discussion.

Yuta gritted his teeth and balled his fists. “Fine,” He nearly spat. “How do I find them?”

At that exact moment, the door opened again and the tall guy called Kris pulled on a chain to reveal another boy around his own age. He was tall, had black hair, brown doe eyes, similar to his own. He looked tired and dirty, as if he hadn’t seen light or a shower in weeks. He was thin as well and there was a nasty bruise on his left cheek.

Yuta knew this guy.

“Yuta, this is Ji Hansol, a witch from one of the most powerful witch clans in the city. He will do a simple locator spell to get the location of our targets.”

Hansol struggled against the chains for a moment and when their eyes met, the witch’s widened slightly out of recognition. There was a slight flicker of hurt in there as well. The look of betrayal. To Yuta’s relief, the other quickly averted his gaze and didn’t tell anyone he knew him. He and Hansol weren’t friends, but they had been classmates for years. He remembered Hansol _was_ friends with the unsociable Taeil and that Baekhyun had been terribly angry when his protégé went missing two months ago.

Everyone thought he was killed by vampires.

But, in fact, he was taken captive by _these_ people.

There was a silence and Yuta saw Sooman taking out a remote from his pocket. He pressed a yellow button without hesitation.

The silence was broken by Hansol’s scream and the male sank to the ground as an electric shock went through his body. Yuta’s mouth dropped open in shock and he shot up from his chair.

“W-what the fuck was-“

“Witch,” Sooman said sternly and Yuta saw Hansol look at the man with a murderous look, “You will do a locator spell to find the owner of _that_.” and Yuta’s neighbor grabbed the earpiece and shoved it over the table so it was in front of Hansol.

Hansol let out a panting laugh at the words. “You’re crazy. Maybe if you would let me go in return...” Another pant. “But we all know that’s not going to happen.”

“You’re right, Hansol,” Sooman said, then he snapped his fingers and a middle aged woman brought in a map and laid it down on the table in front of the witch. “But you will still do as I say.”

“No.”

And Yuta closed his eyes momentarily as the yellow button was pressed again and a pained cry left Hansol’s lips. When he opened his eyes again he glanced at the witch who was heaving heavily, but already preparing to say something stupid again. Yuta could understand, because he probably wouldn’t have given up easily like that either. But right now, it wasn’t about pride. He just hated seeing other people get hurt.

“He’ll do it. There’s no need for another round of freaking electricity,” Yuta quickly said, letting a little anger simmer through, and he shot Hansol a warning look. Sooman was looking at him suspiciously, but nodded nonetheless, putting the device on the table in front of him.

“Go on then,” he ushered, “We don’t have all day.”

Yuta quickly went to Hansol’s side and helped him upright. all eyes were trained on them, so he couldn’t whisper anything to the other. What would he say anyway? That it was going to be alright? The only thing he _could_ do was making sure no one else was getting more hurt for an unnecessary purpose.

But as Hansol did the locator spell, Yuta made a promise to himself that he would do anything to get the witch out of that building. He owed him that, he owed Taeil and Baekhyun that.

The question was… how?

 

* * *

 

At night Taeyong was a vampire, at daytime he was a tattoo artist.

In an impulsive moment, somewhere in the eighties, he had bought an old tattoo shop that had went bankrupt. It wasn’t surprising since the main artist who worked there had died in a car accident and the quality of the others’ art wasn’t good enough to attract customers. Taeyong had worked in another shop for around five years in a neighboring city, but since he didn’t age, he needed to resign to avoid unnecessary suspicion anyway.

Buying his own shop was freeing in a way that he didn’t need to hire people if he didn’t want to. He could just do what he enjoyed the most, drawing and making people happy with his art. Apparently people liked his style, because customers kept on coming and he was even able to make a living out of it for, back then, still the three of them.

As Taeyong sat back in his desk chair, just finished with another drawing for a client he had an appointment with the next day, he fixed his daylight ring. It was an old, but elegant ornament and it allowed him to walk in the sun between other humans without burning to death. He had managed to get one for all four of them and it made their regular life a lot easier.

It actually made living forever worth it.

Taeyong looked outside the window to see the rain pouring down. He sighed and rubbed his temple. People never walked in on rainy days. So much for working his ass off. It made him feel slightly guilty, since it meant that Doyoung and Jaehyun had to work harder to earn more money.

Suddenly his phone buzzed and Taeyong took the device from his pocket. There was a message from Sicheng

_13:04  
**Sicheng:** It’s raining TT-TT what to do hyung?? _

Taeyong snorted. This was the first year Sicheng was trying out college. It was something he wanted to do in his life at least once. It didn’t really matter if he wouldn’t finish it or didn’t make the year, he still had an eternity to try anyway. Since Sicheng always went on his bike and hated bad weather, Taeyong would always receive a complaint text on days like this.

Sometimes he really felt like an older brother to the originally Chinese male. Sicheng was the person of their group that Taeyong actually knew the least. Didn’t take away the fact that he was very protective of him. Turning someone into a vampire automatically created a bond.  

He ignored the text with a shake of his head and put it at the corner of the table, laying down his head on his arms that were now sprawled over his desk.

He thought back to the fight Doyoung and Jaehyun had yesterday night. They were both sorry for the things they said, but were still not talking. He would definitely confront them with it at dinner. There was a time the two of them were close, to the boundary of lovers and Taeyong hoped that one day they would figure themselves out.

About lovers…

Taeyong let out a groan. Somehow he had longed to have one for ages. He just wanted someone that could be an addition to their small family, someone who could love him, take care of him, someone to take care _off._ He had seen it happen so many times around him, in the many human lives he had lived. He had attended dozens of weddings, seen people fall in love over and over again.

It made him jealous.

And feel a little lonely.

Nowadays, there were dating sites to meet new people, and, of course, men and women alike flirted with him occasionally in the shop. But it wasn’t what he was searching for. Call him old fashioned, but he wanted it to happen naturally, outside his working environment, with him chasing after someone and being chased in return. Preferably a vampire.

But it was hard to resist humans sometimes, especially when the life you led was so similar to theirs.

With a sigh he sat up straight again and pushed his large round glasses with black frame higher up his nose. It wasn’t that his eyesight was that bad, it just made him focus on his work better. And, right now, he could use all the focus in the world to divert his mind from thinking about worse things.

Like keeping hidden and making sure nobody killed them.

Jaehyun’s words swarmed around in his mind. Taeyong closed his eyes tightly for a moment as nasty memories of the past forced their way past the walls he had built to hold them away. He killed people, so many. Innocent ones. Sure, also guilty ones, but that seemed to be of unimportance.

He had enjoyed it back then, the cruel deeds giving his confidence a boost and making him feel alive.

He had been a monster.

He also knew he wasn’t one anymore and sure didn’t want to go back to being one. If only someone had guided him through the process of becoming a vampire back then, just like Doyoung and he were doing with Jaehyun and Sicheng. Then he wouldn’t have to feel guilty so much, wouldn’t be so restless, waking up from nightmares whenever he got some sleep.

Jaehyun was right and meant well, but feeding on humans was risky. When your focus was off for just a second, you could lose control and then the human would die.

He didn’t want to let anyone become a murderer anymore. Enough humans had died and were dying by vampires’ hands already. It was so easy to let go and just feed until every drop of blood had disappeared from their bodies. None of the four of them was innocent, but they were good people. And Taeyong wanted to keep it that way.

Someday they would be completely happy and safe.

But that wasn’t today.

Taeyong looked outside again, to the dark clouds releasing the pouring rain. The sound of the droplets against the windows was soothing in a way and Taeyong picked up his pencil and started to sketch, quickly getting caught up in his own little world.

 

* * *

 

The rain soaked Yuta’s socks and shoes as it dripped from his black raincoat. He blinked a few times, still not totally used to wearing the grey contacts, and looked up at the old and almost unnoticeable building that had a scratched sign with the words ‘TY TRACK INK’. He shot a quick look at his phone, before quickly putting it away in his pocket again.

This was definitely the place.

This was the place the earpiece had let him to. The place where the attractive pink haired vampire, that he had met only days ago, would be. He pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on with his foot and slowly made his way to the entrance.

He bit his lip as he reached for the door.

He had to find a way to help capture and kill this group. Only that way he could be free and help Hansol escape as well. He knew it wasn’t going to be fun. He touched the fang marks he had covered with some foundation and let the memory of the sharp teeth piercing his skin wash over him.

Sooman had told him to win their trust first and Yuta had honestly no idea how he was going to achieve that, but he trusted on his skills to improvise. Yuta sighed. Why did he always get himself in these kind of situations? Maybe, after all of this, he would go to Baekhyun and find a way to make all of the memories of the supernatural disappear.

Or maybe not.

He sighed and put up a resolute face. This mission had to succeed, no matter what. And so, he put his hand on the door handle and pushed open the door of the shop.

Today he was getting a tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Locator spells** allow witches to discern the location of an object or person anywhere in the world (the only thing needed are a map and an object/blood belonging to the person you want to find) 
> 
> Okay I apologize. I'm terribly insecure about this chapter, because I never expected it to become plotty and I have no idea if I'm being too vague about it all. If it's getting boring or if things don't make sense, please tell me so! I mean, I like to write, but I also want you to enjoy it of course.
> 
> this chapter was meant to explain a little bit more about their lives and plot, which was pretty much needed. Next chapter contains yutae again, don't worry. Lots of it actually!^_^ (btw vampire, tattoo artist TY is so hot in my mindT-T)
> 
> ~honEy D | [twitter](https://twitter.com/softyukkuri) ^-^


	3. Capitulum III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really happy to hear that people are enjoying this! Hopefully this chapter won’t let you down;) Of course there are YuTae interactions again and even some more info about DoJae.
> 
> Enjoy, sweeties~

Suddenly the bell of his shop door jingled and Taeyong looked up from his drawing to see a guy standing in the entrance, wearing a black raincoat, the hood over his head. Taeyong hadn’t expected to get any costumers outside his one appointment that day since the weather was so bad, so he had just decided to draw some designs for his portfolio.

The door fell closed behind the stranger and water dripped from the raincoat on the wooden floor. Taeyong would have to clean it, again. Then the man took off his hood and Taeyong was met with the face of a striking young man. Sharp features, elegant eye shape and dark brown ruffled hair. The way he stood there, looking at him, made him look almost exotic.

There was no mistaking. He definitely knew who this was.

With widened eyes Taeyong stared at Yuta. The man he encountered in the hospital two days ago. The one that he had fed on.

For a moment Taeyong could only blink dumbly. He was sure he had compelled this guy, so technically Yuta couldn’t know who he was. However, the coincidence sure was a little unbelievable.

“Can I help you?” He asked carefully.

The human cocked his head to the side, looking at him a bit longer, which made Taeyong feel a little uncomfortable. But then he sent him a small smile. “I was wondering if I could get a tattoo.”

Taeyong almost let out a sigh of relief. Yuta’s eyes didn’t really show any sign of recognition, so it just had to be the most fucked up coincidence ever. He quickly finished a line he had just started to draw and put down his pencil. The other man’s voice had a nice ring to it. It was bright, but soft at the same time. Not hateful or fearful this time.

“Yeah, that’s my work after all,” Taeyong said while leaning back in his desk chair. “Do you want to make an appointment or…?”

“I was actually thinking about getting it right now,” Yuta half asked.

Taeyong sighed, his mind on his work rather than their previous encounter. “What are you having? Then I can judge if I can set it today.”

The guy looked right in his eyes. And Taeyong couldn’t deny the spark of interest it caused in his body. His eyes were intense, but beautiful and they looked completely different from the angered ones in the hospital.

“I want a cherry blossom branch. On my ribs.”

Taeyong blinked in surprise at the request. Normally only women got something like that and not even a lot, since the flowers were practically non-existent in Korea. It wasn’t an easy tattoo to place, especially not on the ribs.

Taeyong took off his round glasses and placed them on his desk, leaning forward a little. “Do you have any other tattoos? It’s quite a painful spot.”

“No.”

“It’s not an easy one, so I’m not sure today-“

“Can you do it or not?” The human asked him borderline rudely and Taeyong was perplexed for a moment. Then a small smile made way to his own face as well.

“I can do anything.”

“I like the sound of that,” Yuta said with a grin on his face. It was a cocky, confident one and normally Taeyong would feel disgusted by it, but now he was amazed by how good someone could look while smiling. He didn’t know why… Maybe because he could still taste the delicious blood on his lips.

“Pull off your coat then and take a seat, I’ll start drawing,” Taeyong said and he surprised himself by taking on the request so easily. Normally he would’ve never given in to tattooing such a piece without a drawing appointment first. It took a lot of time and effort and he preferred to have at least a few days to a week to perfection his drawing. The fact that he had encountered this human already _and_ he had known that he was a vampire, didn’t made it any safer.

“Sweet!” Yuta said and he shrugged off his coat, revealing a loose hanging white shirt clinging to his chest. Taeyong rolled his chair to a side table and took a few pieces of paper from it, before rolling back to his desk while eyeing his client. He was thin, but not overly so, with muscular arms. He had a few piercings in his ear that reflected the dull yellow light of the lamp in his shop. Because he had been too busy fighting last time, he hadn’t noticed how good this guy actually looked.

As he put his glasses back on, Taeyong almost felt excited tattooing him. He still had to be on guard though. But honestly… what could a human start against a vampire?

(mistake 1)

“What’s your name? I take it’s not TY Track,” Yuta asked casually while sitting down in a chair.

“Taeyong,” he said while drawing. He looked up for a moment. “You?”

“Nice to meet you, Taeyong, I’m Yuta.” As if he didn’t know that.

After that it was silent for a while since Taeyong got caught up in his drawing. Somehow, it just came out naturally. He had drawn cherry blossom trees and branches before, so he knew the basics, but the design came out more different than any of those. And, as Taeyong looked up to Yuta, who was looking outside the window with a blank look, he thought it would fit him perfectly.

An hour or two flew by while Taeyong perfected his drawing. It was around five pm already when he let go of his pencil and rolled his chair backwards.

“I’m done with the design.”

It seemed to shake Yuta out of his thoughts as he blinked a few times before standing up and walking towards Taeyong’s desk. While showing Yuta the drawing, he couldn’t help but study his expressions. He was really interested in the other’s reaction.

Yuta’s face lit up with surprise at the sight of his sketch. “Wow, it’s beautiful. I actually didn’t expect it to be this good. No offense.”

Taeyong sighed and rubbed his eye after taking off his glasses again. “None taken, but you really are asking the most of my skills. I never take on requests like this.”

“Hmm but you did with me though. Am I _that_ good looking?”

“Ah, aren’t you being too confident right now?” Taeyong shot back. Yuta just smirked at him.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Taeyong looked at the guy with a raised eyebrow, but he still somewhat admired him. He sniffed the air unconsciously and Yuta’s smell was just as it had been the last time. A soft hunger filled him. He had to turn his face the other way before his fangs would pop out accidentally. Taeyong felt really stupid, he never had this with other humans. Then why was this human different? And why was it _him_ of all people that showed up in his shop?

“Go sit down while I prepare the stencil,” he said eventually.

“Sure.”

When Taeyong was done with preparing the stencil and had laid out his equipment on an iron rolling table, he took his chair and walked to Yuta with it.

“Take off your shirt,” Taeyong said monotonously. He remembered when he just started out with tattooing and would blush at every girl or boy that had to take off their clothes. Luckily that phase was over. It had taken him thirty years though.

Still, when Yuta pulled his white shirt over his head, Taeyong couldn’t resist in letting his eyes rake over the other’s fit body. His skin was untainted and prettily light. Taeyong felt the most unprofessional tattoo artist ever when he thought about how his fang marks would look on it.

“Can I ask you a question?” Yuta asked him while laying down on the seat specially designed for tattoo shops.

“Ask away,” Taeyong said as he placed the stencil carefully on the other’s ribs.

“Why in color? What if I wanted black and white?”

Taeyong took off the paper from his body and the drawing of a cherry blossom branch looked perfect on the white skin of the human. Then he looked up at Yuta. It was a mistake, because their eyes were drawing each other in and Taeyong may or may not have trailed a finger under the drawing on purpose.

“It would look good on you,” he answered. “And you didn’t look like the type to care if you have pink on your body. You don’t care about trivial matters like that.”

“Oh?” Yuta asked him amusedly, giving him a playful look. “So you know me?” Well, actually…

“Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t think anyone knows you. You’re quite a character.”

He saw the corners of Yuta’s lips turn upwards as he lay down on his back. He didn’t say anything though. And so, Taeyong started on the tattoo. He was surprised that Yuta only flinched a few times, but didn’t show any pain he was feeling for the remaining part.

“So why cherry blossoms?” He asked naturally while wiping some of the ink and blood with a wipe, before continuing his work again.

“Is this one of your standard practiced questions?” Yuta asked back with a smirk.

“Maybe…” Taeyong admitted, “But I’m also interested in the drawings that people want to have on their bodies for the rest of their lives.”

“Fair enough,” Yuta said while looking at the ceiling. “I’m originally from Japan and I grew up with walking under the cherry blossom trees almost every day. I always admired them and they remind me of my origins.”

“That explains a lot,” Taeyong said. It also felt like he could finally place the exotic feel he gave off. He had been in Japan a long time ago, but he remembered the beautiful trees vividly.

“Cherry blossoms stand for renewal, new beginnings…” Yuta added absentmindedly. “They have a very fleeting life and in that way they kinda represent our life. We just have to make the best of it in the short time we have. Lately I feel like starting something new, leave my troubles behind and just… “

“Live?” Taeyong finished for him. Yuta shot him a look.

“Yeah, live,” Yuta answered softly.

Taeyong was impressed. People wanted flowers all of the time, but men rarely did. Still, this Yuta wanted something that represented his life on his body in combination with a memory of where his life started in the first place. Taeyong found it funny how Yuta talked about a fleeting life. If only he knew that for him there was no such thing. There was only forever.

“I like that,” Taeyong said truthfully. “Sometimes you need to start something new in order to continue to live in a way you want.”

The words slipped of his tongue on instinct and he realized that, maybe, he should take his own words to heart. Maybe Jaehyun was right… they couldn’t keep living like this. Running away wasn’t life. life should be beautiful even if it was forever. To stop running away didn’t mean being reckless and start killing people. It meant not being afraid and standing your ground to face your enemies head on.

Maybe that was what they should do to really live how they wanted…

“You’re a vampire, right?”

It was asked rather softly, but somehow determined and Taeyong stopped his work immediately, too shocked to say anything. Fear took hold of him for a moment. He gulped. How? How was this possible? He had compelled him, for sure.

“I’m just Taeyong,” He tried. Maybe he had heard it wrong.

“Let me rephrase that,” Yuta said, “I _know_ you’re a vampire. You drank from me after all.”

“So you remember me?” Taeyong asked tentatively. He felt his fangs pop out and his irises turn red, ready to attack if the other tried something.

“I do. But before you try to kill me, I’m not here to fight you,” Yuta said without flinching.

Taeyong tried to sound casual at his next words “Well, does it matter what I am? You also know I can kill you right here and now.” He continued his work. He messed up one of the blossoms, but there were so many that it wouldn’t be noticeable for anyone but him.

“It doesn’t, I came here for a tattoo. But I just wondered… why does a vampire live here when he could be anywhere he wants.”

“Who knows,” Taeyong said back. After a little silence he asked the question that was burning on his tongue. “How? How did you get your memories back?”

“Would you be surprised if I had connections with the supernatural?”

_Ah a witch._

“No. not at all,” Taeyong said with a snort.

“You are so interesting,” Yuta concluded and Taeyong could feel the other’s eyes on him. He couldn’t help but ask the question back.

“Are you fully human?”

Yuta laughed. It was a pretty sound. “Do I look like one?”

“You do, but you’re different.”

“Sorry to disappoint, I’m just a simple human,” Yuta said with a smile in his voice. For the second time Taeyong stopped with working to look at Yuta. He couldn’t quite figure out his intentions. Which human was stupid enough to walk straight into a vampire den, seemingly unprotected? It was almost suicidal. Somewhere, he admired Yuta for it.

“Then why are you here? You obviously know I’m a vampire. Last time we met you wanted to kill me. I can hardly believe you’re just here because of a tattoo.”

“Hm true,” Yuta said, the smile still on his face. “I _am_ here for a tattoo. But, I also pay close attention to vampires in the neighborhood. If they pose a danger for other humans, I feel like I have the duty to do something about it.

“And am I a danger?” Taeyong asked seriously.

“I’m not sure yet. The way you’re digging those needles in my ribs, makes me think so though,” he gritted out and Taeyong couldn’t help but let out an unbelieving laugh.

“You are an interesting case,” Yuta continued. “You’re obviously stealing blood bags so you don’t have to feed on humans, so that’s good. But just the fact that you’re a tattoo artist… it’s funny. You’re placing something permanent on other people, something that will last forever, just as your lives. Say? Do you actually have tattoos yourself?” The not so subtle change in subject was somehow very welcome.

“I wouldn’t be a tattoo artist if I hadn’t,” Taeyong said. Of course he had them. They were hidden under his clothes. He had traveled different places to have the best tattoo artists ink him. Tattoos were one of the only things that were truly immortal. Just like he was. It made them all the more meaningful.

Taeyong realized that they were quite a strange pair like that. He himself a vampire, full of tattoos, pink hair, living outside the big city, constantly living in fear and on the run. And then there was Yuta, intelligent, perfectly normal clothes and hair, who was a human. He lived freely, accepted the supernatural and it made Taeyong feel hopeful in a way. If just anyone could be like them, free to be whoever they wanted, proving that it didn’t matter who or what you are for living your life; Be it forever or just for a set amount of years.

“You’re really different from other vampires I met,” Yuta admitted almost sheepishly. “Also, I have yet to meet someone who’s work is better and deeper than yours. A lot of people walk with your work on their skins.” Taeyong almost thought he had heard some admiration in the other’s voice.

“Of course. I had a bit longer to perfect my skills,” Taeyong said amusedly.

“You have a point.”

It was silent after that. The only sound that could be heard was the buzzing sound of the tattooing equipment, pressing into Yuta’s skin with graceful strokes. Taeyong sometimes caught the Japanese man gritting his teeth in pain when the bundle of needles went over the thin skin that covered his ribs, but he never complained.

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Taeyong asked then. “You know, living as a human, aware of all the supernatural? It could cause a lot of trouble for you if others would find out you know about them. I may not be like that, but there are enough werewolves, vampires and witches who would kill you on the spot.”

“Isn’t that what makes life more thrilling though?” Yuta asked with a grin. “Yeah, of course it’s dangerous, but people believe what they expect. If they don’t expect me to know about them, why would they be more cautious of me?”

Taeyong snorted. “Are you a masochist or something?”

“Now actually…” Yuta began teasingly.

“Don’t even say it,” Taeyong said with a smile and he pressed the machine a little harder against Yuta’s skin, making the latter let out a yelp. It was nice like this. It actually felt good not having to fear someone who knew about what he was.

Twenty minutes later, Taeyong drew back from Yuta and took his machine from the other’s skin to lay it down on the platform on wheels next to him.

“I’m done.”

Yuta sat upright immediately, looking at his ribs. “Really, is hell over?”

“Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you in the mirror.”

Taeyong stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He was aware how his own shirt rid up a little and Yuta’s stare at his exposed skin. Then he reached out one of his hand to Yuta, who didn’t hesitate and put his own hand in it. Taeyong pulled the other up and then they were standing face to face, their eyes practically on the same level. Yuta’s hand was a bit bony, but soft and a little smaller in his own. Taeyong couldn’t help but feel a strange connection.

Then he let go and they headed over to the mirror. He really wanted to see Yuta’s reaction to his work. He didn’t know why, but it mattered.

“Oh my god Taeyong, it’s fucking amazing,” Yuta gasped as he looked at the new tattoo on his ribs. It made the vampire enthusiast as well. He smiled at the other.

“I’m glad you like it.” Then he touched the top part of the inked cherry blossom branch. “Look, here I added a bit more shading so the pink pops out nicely.” He trailed his finger a little lower. “And here I used different tints of brown, to give it more effect.”

When he looked up, Yuta was looking at him intensely, his brown orbs shining with interest and something else that Taeyong couldn’t quite place. Or maybe he could, but denied it.

“Do you always touch your clients like this?” Yuta said rather softly with a challenging look. Taeyong couldn’t help but press his fingers on the freshly tattooed skin and Yuta let out a hiss in response.

“I don’t.”

(mistake 2)

Yuta looked him up and down then. “Good, makes me feel special.” And he even dared to wink at him. Taeyong rolled his eyes and removed his hand.

“Let me patch you up real quick and you’re ready to go.”

“Okay.”

Yuta sat down on the seat again and Taeyong took some foil and tape, specifically designed for that purpose. Then he carefully placed it over the tattoo and when he was done, he went through his hair with his hand. He was pretty tired after placing such a thing. He couldn’t wait to just fall on his couch upstairs and fall asleep like that.

Preferably with Yuta though. Because damn, that boy was really messing with his head right now. He was obviously flirting with him and just the guts that took had Taeyong totally interested. Yuta was hot, smelled amazing, tasted amazing too. He briefly wondered how it would be, being with a human who actually knew he was a vampire. But he let his thoughts for his own as he patted the other’s thigh, indicating that he was done.

They both stood up and Yuta shot him a smile after putting on his shirt again. His smile was really something else, Taeyong thought.

“Thanks, I came to the right place.”

Taeyong mirrored the smile. “No problem, I just did my job.”

They shook hands, but when Taeyong wanted to take back his hand, Yuta held on. “I actually never asked about your tattoos.” His eyes were flickering up and down. “And I’d like to know the meaning,” he leaned a bit closer and Taeyong held his breath when Yuta placed his mouth right next to his ear, “of every. Single. One of them,” He whispered and Taeyong felt a shiver run down his spine.

Then Yuta drew back and let go of his hand.

“You’re a human. Do you even know what you’re implying?” Taeyong heard himself say. the Japanese man shrugged.

“I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to start something new. I want to take more risks, be a little freer. You seem like you could use some more freedom as well.”

“I work hard though.”

Taeyong looked at Yuta carefully. His eyes were serious. There was no way that Taeyong could deny the physical attraction between them. He looked down and when he looked up he made sure his irises were blood red, his fangs showing.

Yuta didn’t even flinch. Just looked right in his eyes.

Alarm bells were going off in his head. This was incredibly dangerous. Yuta was dangerous.

“I finish at seven, feel free to come by again, whenever you like,” Taeyong said weakly.

(mistake 3)

A challenging smile appeared on Yuta’s face again and Taeyong knew that he was screwed. But dangerous or not, maybe this was exactly what he needed.

“That’s good, fuck that’s really good,” Yuta said a little breathlessly. Then the human licked his thumb and brought it to his own neck. He swiped across it and Taeyong stared with open mouth at the two puncture marks that reappeared. Their eyes met again.

“Next time you better heal them, Taeyong.”

Taeyong felt his body burn up at the comment, not able to take his eyes away from the human’s neck. Unconsciously, he took a step forward, but Yuta took a step back, his arms behind his back, winking at him once again. What even was this man?

And with that Yuta turned around, picked up his jacket and walked out of the shop. Taeyong looked out of the window, watching how the Japanese human put on his rain coat gracefully and put on the hood once again. Soon enough, he disappeared out of sight and Taeyong stumbled backwards and let himself fall down in his desk chair.

He put his head in his hands. What the fuck had just happened? How much of a hypocrite could he be, really? He had condemned Jaehyun for putting them in danger with his ideas, but he himself let a human, who knew what he was, flirt with him and even invite him over, fully knowing that his family was living upstairs.

There was just something about that human that pulled Taeyong in.

He just hoped he would be able to get out.

 

* * *

 

Yuta had never meant to say all those things. He had never meant to start flirting with an incredibly old and strong vampire that could kill him in a second.

He opened the door of his apartment and shrugged off his coat. He quickly kicked off his shoes and then he buried his face and his hands in the still wet coat that was now hanging on the coat rack. He closed his eyes and let out a stuttering breath, trying to collect his thoughts.

He had fucking just gotten a big ass tattoo on his ribs and, on top of that, he had flirted with the one that had tattooed him. Yes, he had always wanted to get the tattoo, yes the vampire was hot as fuck, not to mention, really comfortable to be around, but it wasn’t meant to go like this. He pushed himself away from the wall and lifted up his shirt to examine the plastic foil which covered the pink flowers.

Like that he walked into the living room.

“Is that a tattoo, Yuta-chan?”

Yuta’s heart jumped to his throat and on instinct his hand reached for his sock, where he always kept a poisonous dagger hidden.

“Calm down, it’s just me, but we need to talk.”

Yuta stopped with his foot still in his hand and locked eyes with none other than Byun Baekhyun, sitting on his couch with crossed legs. Behind the couch stood an awkward Taeil, who didn’t meet his eyes.

“W-what are you two doing here?” Yuta finally half-yelled at the two witches. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew it wasn’t just a friendly visit.

“Let me get straight to point,” Baekhyun said seriously and he stood up from the couch. “I know you’ve seen Hansol, one of my students, in that disgusting place you currently work at.”

Yuta looked at Taeil with a betrayed look. He had told the short witch that he had seen him, because Yuta knew Taeil was friends with him. He had also promised to get him out of there. Taeil in return, had promised _him_ he would help if needed and wouldn’t tell Baekhyun about it, knowing it would anger the older.

Well so much for promises, Yuta thought bitterly.

“I didn’t tell him Yuta, he found out,” Taeil explained softly as if reading his mind.

Yuta immediately held up his hands in defense. “H-hey. So, okay yes, I saw him, but I don’t know if Taeil told you, but I was planning-“

“To save him, yes I know your noble plans. But let’s be honest here, Yuta. As a selfish person myself I recognize it in other people as well, and you are a human. Selfishness is in your nature. Let me inform you on the facts. Hansol was abducted and put in some kind of dungeon. You.” And he pointed at Yuta. “You are working with the humans who put him there, doing the dirty jobs for them.”

“You know I’m loyal to you gu-“

“Your loyalties shift whenever you want, Yuta-chan.” And suddenly an invisible force lifted him off the floor, cutting of his air circuit. Yuta kicked his feet, hands going to his neck. But there was no chance of escaping. He shot a furious look at the witch.

“Hyung!” Taeil said as he looked at his master and Yuta anxiously.

 Baekhyun continued, “So if you want to keep your limbs on your body, you will keep informing me of _everything_ they say to you or plan to do. It was a mistake to keep important information from me. You will get Hansol out of there. I don’t care how. Find a way. I feel hurt, Yuta-chan. You’re betraying my trust. For all I know they’re planning on attacking our witch clan and _you_ are helping them to achieve that. After everything I’ve done for you, I don’t deserve this.”

“Hyung! Yuta wouldn’t do that,” Taeil said. “He told _me_ , remember? He was getting Hansol out of there anyway.”

“You’re naïve Taeil,” Baekhyun said back and then he released Yuta, who fell on the ground, coughing hard. With teary eyes he eyed the two witches.

“He could tell you one thing, then do another. It’s how humans are. They know no loyalty. I thought Hansol was dead, I was still mourning him and yet _he_ saw him and let him be put back into his cell like an animal.”

“What was I supposed to do then!” Yuta said from his position on the ground. “I couldn’t help him with all those humans in the room. They would kill me on the spot! I underestimated them. But I would never in my life hunt you down.”

“Like you’re hunting down those vampires?” Baekhyun said with a sarcastic laugh, “Trying to win their trust to betray them and lock them up or kill them? Sounds pretty familiar, don’t you think?” This time Taeil stared at Yuta with wide eyes.

“You said you were just gathering intel for them.”

Yuta opened and closed his mouth. How did Baekhyun know? How was that possible?

“I reached out to Hansol through our connection spell,” Baekhyun explained as if he knew what Yuta was thinking. “He told me all about your new mission.  And then I thought, what if he’s doing exactly _that_ with us? What if he’s winning our trust right now, getting us to help him, only to screw us over later.”

“B-Baekhyun-hyung, y-you can’t possibly think I would-“ Yuta tried to tell him desperately.

Suddenly he was shoved over the floor and his back hit the wall harshly. He groaned.

“I don’t know what to think anymore, Yuta. What I _do_ know is that I have to be careful. You will do as I say, whenever I say. It’s your own fault for playing with fire. So right now you’re a double spy.” And the last part the older witch said almost happily.

Then Baekhyun snapped his fingers and he disappeared without saying another word.

Taeil didn't move from his spot, a frown present on his face.

Yuta pulled himself upright. “Taeil-hyung, you have to believe me. We’ve known each other for such a long time now, I- you know that I sometimes hate humans myself. I’m not betraying you.”

“But you are going to betray those vampires, right?” Taeil shot back with a piercing gaze. He walked towards him and helped Yuta up.

“I don’t know…” Yuta admitted, his hand unconsciously going to his ribs, where the cherry blossom branch was inked on his skin. “I might have to I- I don’t know. I’m not even sure if I can win their trust in the first place. I only met one of them… Taeyong” He let the name roll of his tongue carefully, remembering the other's intelligent eyes and gorgeous face and body. He shook his head. “Why do you even care? You hate vampires.”

“It’s not about that,” Taeil said back. “It’s what _you_ will become if you do it.”

Yuta gulped.

“You can’t lie to me Yuta,” Taeil added. “If you keep holding things from me I- I don’t know if I can keep trusting your words.”

Yuta grabbed both of Taeil’s wrists. “I won’t,” he reassured him. Taeil nodded and took his hands back.

“I really hope so.” And with that he too left the apartment.

As soon as the door fell closed Yuta took one of the pillows of his couch and threw it to the other side of the room. It fell on the kitchen counter and knocked a glass with water over, that fell to the ground. It shattered on the spot.

“Fuck!” Yuta yelled frustratingly.

Why him? Why did every bad thing that could happen, happen to him? How could Baekhyun think he would betray them so easily? Five fucking years he had been in contact with the older witch, who helped him living on his own when he was so close to giving up on everything.

Angrily he stomped over to the bathroom and after he got rid of his clothes he removed the bandage from the tattoo. Being pushed against the wall hadn’t felt nice with having practically still a wound on his ribs. He touched the tattoo.

Somehow he felt himself immediately calm down.

Yuta closed his eyes and let memories of his youth in Osaka fill his mind. Suddenly, he was walking to primary school, holding his mother’s hand underneath the fresh cherry blossom trees. He could remember reaching out, to happily catch a pink petal, but he quickly opened his eyes before his younger self could take hold of it.

Once under the warm water, -He had decided against a hot one to make the skin sting less- he leaned against the tile wall.

He touched his neck, where the fang marks were still situated and his mind wandered to Taeyong. There was something about that vampire that had made him turn into a high schooler, flirting like a first class fuckboy. But, to his surprise, the other had returned his interest. It had been a strange encounter, but somehow a very welcome one.

He knew that they were going to be seeing each other more often. But with his mission in mind, Yuta doubted that it was a good thing.

 

* * *

 

Jaehyun opened the door of the tattoo shop, a bag of Chinese food in his hands. Technically, vampires didn’t need food to keep themselves alive, but since they all lived a practically human life, eating dinner had become a normality and it wasn’t unpleasant. Jaehyun thought it was nice, because eating together brought them closer as a family.

“Oh, hey Jae,” Taeyong, who was busy cleaning, greeted him. Jaehyun smiled at him and couldn’t help but notice his older friend’s nervousness or, rather, restlessness.

“Need any help?” he asked.

“Nah, you can go upstairs already, I’ll be there in fifteen.”

Jaehyun nodded and went to the back of the shop where an old wooden door led to a staircase, leading to their shared small, but cozy apartment.

What he didn’t expect was seeing Doyoung’s sleeping form on the couch once he walked through the door. Jaehyun almost turned around again, since they hadn’t really talked after their fallout, but decided against it and put the bag with food on the table.

He regretted saying some things. Especially when he indicated that Doyoung had somehow broken his promise to him, which wasn’t true in the slightest. The words had just slipped from his tongue because of his frustration. He glanced at Doyoung’s figure and involuntarily memories flooded his mind.

_…………………………_

_1947 – Changwon_

_Jaehyun was staring at the hand that holding his wrist in a tight grip, refraining him from walking away. As far away you could walk in a prison cell._

_“I can promise you a better life Jaehyun-ah. I can take you to places, places you’ve never been before, far away from this hellhole.” The hand around his wrist tightened. “You’re not supposed to live like this. You’re supposed to be free.”_

_Jaehyun gulped and looked right into the vampire’s eyes. This man, or not really, could give him exactly what he wanted. It was so tempting to give in. To just do it and to let go of his worries. This man, Kim Dongyoung, could give him the freedom he wanted._

_“Why me?” he asked back. "Out of all the people here, who are suffering more than me, why are you asking me?”_

_Doyoung smiled a sad smile. “I don’t know. You are strong. Not only physically, but also mentally. I’ve seen you help the other prisoners, children… I just- I came here to feed on people, but instead I’m so disgusted by this place, I feel like I need to do something to help. Even if it’s just one person. Even if it’s only_ you _, I think it’s worth it.”_

_The resoluteness of the words were genuine and Jaehyun couldn’t help but feel safe. He couldn’t help but feel like he could trust this person, even if he had learned to never trust people in the first place. But then again… this person wasn’t a human._

_He looked behind him to see his dirty cell. The prison he had been in for seven months already. There was a piece of bread, barely touched, and an empty water bottle lying in the corner. In anger Jaehyun balled his fists. They had been treated like dogs. He thought about the children and families in the cells next to his. It made him hesitate._

_“I don’t think I can leave them behind,” he said with a frown. He wanted to take the offer, but he had a responsibility as well._

_Doyoung put a hand on his shoulder. When he locked eyes with the vampire, the other’s irises were a deep red._

_“We’re vampires remember. The strongest creatures on this earth. There’s nothing we can’t do. My friend, he… he was craving some human blood anyway.”_

_“You mean you’re going to kill the wards… the people who put us here?” Jaehyun gritted out in a question._

_Doyoung’s hand trailed over his neck. He hummed. “Yes, you can put it that way,” he affirmed softly._

_“Then yes,” Jaehyun said with a sureness that even surprised himself, “turn me into a vampire. There’s nothing I want more than to take revenge on the people who wronged me, wronged all of us.”_

_Doyoung’s hand reached his cheek then. “Revenge is overrated, believe me. You are not going to kill anyone. Feed on, yes, kill, no. Leave that to us.”_

_Jaehyun swallowed as he put his own hand on Doyoung’s, that was still against his cheek._

_“H-how does it work?” He asked._

_Doyoung smiled a little at that. “First you’ll have to drink my blood. Then I’ll have to kill you.” Jaehyun took the other’s hand from his cheek and squeezed it._

_“Okay.”_

_Doyoung took a deep breath and brought his own wrist to his mouth. He quickly pierced his skin and the red liquid immediately welled up from the two little wounds. They locked eyes and when Doyoung gave him a short nod, Jaehyun reached for the vampire’s wrist and put his lips against the skin. He sucked gently and the bitter, ironlike taste of the other’s blood hit his taste buds. It tasted terrible, but it somehow felt like an intimate action as well. So he treasured it._

_Doyoung took back his wrist._

_“How do you want to die, Jung Yoonoh?”_

_Jaehyun gulped at the question, an instinctual fear taking hold of his body. “Y-you can just snap my neck or something.”_

_Doyoung laughed at that. “It’s all right, that’s doable.” But before he was able to stand behind Jaehyun, the latter quickly said,_

_“Wait! I still have one request before I die. No, actually two.”_

_“Uh... okay sure.”_

_Jaehyun nodded a few times to himself. “First, when I wake up, I won’t be Yoonoh anymore. I will be Jaehyun. Jung Jaehyun.”_

_“Jaehyun,” Doyoung said carefully. “I like the sound of that.” Then a short silence. “So, what’s your second request?”_

_Jaehyun let their eyes meet and cocked his head a little to the side, giving the vampire a dimpled smile. “I would like to have at least kissed a man once in my life.”_

_Doyoung spluttered at the statement and Jaehyun couldn’t help but find it endearing in some way._

_“You can still do that when you’re a vampire though…”_

_“I want to do it when I’m still human. It wouldn’t be too bad, being a person people despise. I want to be myself for once.”_

_“Fine,” Doyoung said._

_Jaehyun immediately stepped closer to the vampire and laid one of his hands on his waist. With the other he softly stroked the vampire’s cheek. “Thank you for everything, Dongyoung,” He whispered. “I’ll be by your side for as long as you’ll have me there.”_

_Doyoung stared at him intensely._

_“Forever it is then,” he whispered back._

_And then their lips met. Softly. Tenderly. And Jaehyun forgot about all his misery and his upcoming death as the only thing he could focus on was Doyoung’s mouth moving against his._

_…………………_

Jaehyun shook his head and ended the memory right there. He noticed that his hand was white from holding the edge of the table so tightly and he quickly let go, flexing his hand a few times.

Once, they had been like that, but living for such a long time and being actual vampires had changed their relationship a lot. He looked at Doyoung’s sleeping form and couldn’t help but walk towards him. When he wanted to put the blanket, that had fallen on the ground, on top of him once again, he was a little caught off guard when Doyoung’s eyes fluttered open. Jaehyun kept quiet and let go of the blanket while Doyoung quickly sat up straight.

There was a short silence in which neither really knew what to say.

“I’m sorry,” Doyoung finally said a little sheepishly, surprising Jaehyun.

He quickly shook his head with a dimpled smile. “No hyung,  _I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I- you have to know that I really _am_ thankful for your protection and guidance all this time.”

He saw Doyoung bite his lip. 

“But you’re right somewhere… I shouldn’t have said… “ their eyes met and Doyoung’s had a defiant look in them. “I’ve never once regret turning you, Yoonoh. Please never doubt that.”

Jaehyun’s mouth opened and closed at the use of his old name.

“And I shouldn’t have brought up the promise.”

A clap.

“Now that’s solved, we can finally eat in peace,” Taeyong said with a smile, his arm around Sicheng’s shoulder, who looked a little uncomfortable.

Jaehyun rolled his eyes, but the atmosphere was immediately less tense than it had been before. As he looked at Taeyong and Sicheng setting the table, he suddenly felt really thankful that _this_ is where he had ended up. He also couldn’t help but feel a familiar warmth inside his chest when Doyoung kissed his cheek when he passed him on his way to the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao when will Yuta ever catch a break? I’m really curious about what you thought about this chapter, so comments and kudos would be appreciated! I really enjoyed writing it and I kind of thought such a tattoo would look amazing on Yuta?? Also the part from Jaehyun's POV wasn't planned, but it flowed out automatically so I just decided to keep it like that.
> 
> (I listened to Sleeping With Sirens’ new album a lot while writing this.)  
> Hopefully see you next chapter!<3
> 
> ~honEy D | [my twitter](https://twitter.com/softyukkuri) ^-^


	4. Capitulum IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _In which both Yuta and Taeyong fall deeper and deeper into a trap they set themselves, Taeyong reveals important information, Yuta's hatred for humans and himself grows and they both receive threats from their only friends._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I really hope you’re all still enjoying this! A new chapter with new developments. Get ready for LOTS of YuTae.  
> Also Hansol left SM. So let’s cry together and support him in The Unit and J-Flo’s new boy group (that’s supposedly debuting this year:))  
> Enjoy~

It was only after three days that Yuta finally dared to go back to the tattoo shop. Unlike the last time it wasn’t raining, but the chilly October air still made the human shiver as he walked towards the entrance of the shop with a heavy heart. He wasn’t as confident as the last time, no, it was more the exact opposite.

Yesterday there had been an ‘emergency’ meeting at a different location than usual and he had been surprised to only see a few of the humans instead of all eleven. The location had been an old house, far outside the city, basically in the middle of nowhere.

It was the place where they held their supernatural prisoners. He was taken to the dungeons to see what Sooman and the others had been working on the whole time.

It was the most disgusting place Yuta had ever been in. There were around twenty cells, each containing one or two supernatural creatures. They looked exhausted, hungry, animalistic, but not because of their nature, but because the conditions that forced them to be.

And then there were the experimentation rooms.

He remembered asking why they were showing him this, to which Sooman answered something along the lines like ‘it’s what they deserve’ and ‘we can finally give humans an advantage as well’. He never really answered his original question, which had worried Yuta slightly. Yuta thought it was complete bullshit though and he had been disgusted by what he was seeing. His loyalty was being tested. Again. And it had been harder than ever to play along.

He had absolutely no time to waste if he was planning on saving Hansol.

And himself.

But as soon as he set foot into the tattoo shop and laid eyes on Taeyong’s figure, who was currently busy tattooing a girl’s arm, there was a wave of guilt that made him want to turn around. Seeing those experiments had made Yuta grow a hatred for his own kind and it made it even harder knowing he was contributing to it, unwillingly as it may be.

At the sound of the bell, Taeyong looked up from his work and Yuta saw the vampire tense up for a moment when their eyes met.

“You can sit over there, I’ll be done in ten minutes,” the pink haired male said surprisingly casually, pointing to one of the chairs on the side with his elbow. Then he turned back to his work after giving the girl an apologetic smile.

Yuta observed the vampire shamelessly as he sat down in the chair. This time he was wearing glasses and his brows were furrowed in concentration as he moved the tattoo equipment over her skin. Yuta looked a little closer and saw that the tattoo was an anchor.

Taeyong didn’t lie though, because after twenty minutes he waved at the girl as she left the shop with a happy and thankful smile.

The door fell closed and it was dead silent.

Yuta nervously drummed his fingers against the arm rests, while Taeyong didn’t move away from his spot.

“Hey,” Yuta eventually tried, standing up. Taeyong turned towards him and looked at him curiously. Then the vampire walked over to his desk and took off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh.

“I actually didn’t expect you to come back.”

Yuta shrugged and walked a little closer. “To be completely honest, I didn’t really expect it either… yet here I am,” he lied smoothly. Then he cocked his head to the side and sent the other a smile, letting his eyes look the vampire up and down. “I wonder why that is...”

Taeyong scraped his throat awkwardly,  but shook his head right after, a soft smile on his face.

“You’re a strange one, Yuta-sshi. Can’t say I entirely dislike it.”

Yuta laughed at that. He couldn’t help but feel a little more at ease. “I tend to have that effect on people.”

“Ah you’re so cocky.”

“I know,” Yuta answered amusedly. “So you’re done for today?”

At his words Taeyong shot a glance at the clock on the wall. He shrugged. “I might as well be. It’s half an hour before closing time, but I don’t have anyone scheduled anymore and I’m sure not taking on sudden requests,” he said while stretching out his arms in front of him. He focused on Yuta again. “About that… how is your tattoo healing?”

Yuta was a little caught off guard by the question and scratched his neck nervously. “It’s a little irritated to be honest.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes. “Of course it is, I already thought you were  _such_ a person. Now sit down and take off your shirt. Then I’ll take a look.”

“Such a person?” Yuta asked, but he did as he was told -how could he mind undressing in front of Taeyong?- and sat down on the familiar stretcher. He watched how Taeyong rummaged through a cupboard and took out a small jar. The vampire was wearing an orange hoodie that looked both good and cute on him. He never really thought pink and orange went well together until he saw it on Taeyong to be very honest.

Again Yuta felt a twist in his stomach.

When the vampire finally approached Yuta, sitting down on a stool in front of him, he looked him right in the eyes. “A person who doesn’t take good care of their tattoos.”

Yuta huffed. Well he wasn’t wrong.

“I didn’t have the time.”

“Bullshit, for this you  _make_ time,” Taeyong said with the nth sigh. He leaned closer to inspect the inked cherry blossom branch. “You know that tattoos are just like wounds, right? You need to take care of them properly. If you don’t, it will only take longer to heal.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When Taeyong wanted to touch his tattoo, Yuta turned his body away instinctively. He was surprised to suddenly see a worried look cross the vampire’s face. He looked at Yuta.

“That’s quite a nasty bruise you have there,” he said carefully. For a moment Yuta was confused, but then he remembered the fight with Baekhyun. Somehow Yuta felt his chest constrict pleasantly in his chest at the comment. He shot Taeyong a grin.

“I’ll give you some advice mister vampire, don’t mess with witches.” He regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth.

But to Yuta’s relief Taeyong just huffed out a laugh. “Believe me, you don’t have to tell me.” Then he bit his lip before saying. “You want me to heal that? Your tattoo will heal with it too… so yeah…you just have to drink-”

“Your blood. I know how it works,” Yuta finished for him as he stared at Taeyong in mild surprise. He felt his face heat up a little. It was a nice proposition, and it was probably just Taeyong being really friendly. For a moment Yuta actually felt very tempted to say yes, but he quickly reminded himself of his current situation. There was a possibility, albeit small, that he wouldn’t survive all of this crap. And Yuta wasn’t planning on accidentally becoming a vampire. That said… he kind of felt like he didn’t deserve to be healed either.

“I’m good. It’s nothing. I’m not a weakling like you vampires, who heal at every little injury,” he said in a playful tone. Taeyong eyed him with a raised brow, but the corners of his mouth were turned up.

“Your choice really. But hey, what happened to respect for your elders?” Taeyong shot back eventually, weighing one of the little jars in his hand.

“How old are you actually?” Yuta asked back.

Taeyong obviously looked a bit uncomfortable at the question, because he glanced to the side nervously.

“Two hundred and eighteen.”

Yuta was absolutely stunned, but he didn’t let it show. He hadn’t expected him to be  _that_ old. And it made him think… maybe he  _was_ in fact messing with the wrong vampire.

“At what age were you turned?” Yuta asked instead.

“Twenty three,” Taeyong mumbled and Yuta saw a dark look cross his handsome features. Sensitive topic apparently… but the vampire quickly masked it by opening the little jar. “Okay, this might be a little uncomfortable, but I’m going to put some cream on it.”

“Oh my god, I’m twenty three as well. So, basically I don’t have to call you hyung, since you’re like, forever twenty three,” Yuta said and clapped his hands together gleefully, making the atmosphere less tense. He hissed right after when he felt Taeyong’s fingers touch his tattoo. The vampire smiled at his squirming.

“I think not. I quite like being called hyung,” he said back while gently coating the inked skin in the white substance, trailing his fingers over it. Yuta gulped. Sure it stung a little, but the other was incredibly close to him, leaning over him with his hand on the stretcher next to Yuta’s knees.

He couldn’t help but say. “Oho, did I just expose one of your kinks, Taeyong- _hyung?”_

Taeyong stilled his hand and looked up at Yuta. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” It was said in a softer, almost serious way and Yuta’s heart skipped a beat. He felt like Taeyong could hear it when his eyes darted to his neck. Taeyong flatted out his hand on his tattoo, the warmth on the irritated skin quite uncomfortable, but also terribly welcome somehow.

“Why  _did_ you come back, Yuta-sshi? What are you expecting of me?” Taeyong said absentmindedly, moving his hand a little downwards.

Yuta swallowed again, suddenly feeling way too vulnerable. “I… “ He couldn’t really think clearly anymore, his thoughts all over the place. It was like he couldn’t concentrate on what he was supposed to say. He should be careful not to say too much, but still get closer to Taeyong. The problem was, he didn’t mind becoming closer. He didn’t mind flirting with him…

“I think we both know why, Taeyongie,” Yuta said just as seriously, laced with some playfulness, holding his breath right after the words escaped his lips.

A frown appeared on Taeyong’s face and he bit his lip, considering Yuta’s words. The hand on his body moved downwards even more and stilled at his waist. And then Taeyong’s face was closer and Yuta could do nothing but look right back, acting braver than he was.

“You really need to learn some respect,” Taeyong said lowly.

And then his eyes turned red for a moment before they flickered back to brown.

It caught Yuta off guard quite a lot, but he wasn’t the only one since Taeyong backed away from him immediately, hand leaving his body, blinking a few times. Yuta thought the vampire almost looked… surprised. It was silent for a moment.

“This never happens,” Taeyong mumbled more to himself than to Yuta.

“Maybe you’re hungrier than you thought,” Yuta tried tentatively. In the meantime he tried to get a grip on himself.

Taeyong shook his head. “Fuck, this can’t happen again,” he said and he stood up. He started to pace around, while dragging a hand through his hair.

“You’re overreacting, now sit down. Don’t sweat it. I’m not afraid of you,” Yuta tried to reassure him.

With a sigh Taeyong turned to Yuta. “It’s not  _that._  But this is dangerous, it happened out of my control… What if it happened unconsciously while talking to a costumer or someone who’s after me? And believe me, there are a lot of people that want me dead. I can’t just trust anyone these days.”

_But why are you trusting me?_

It was frustrating in a way that Yuta almost wanted Taeyong to know. To know that he was here to win his trust and get him captured. Locked up in some dirty dungeon, not knowing what would happen to him. Yuta didn’t understand why the other was trusting him this easily after what happened in the hospital in the first place. It was strange, because the vampire wasn’t stupid. No, the exact opposite; He was intelligent and definitely not naïve, not after more than 200 years of life experience. And yet, Taeyong seemed to be genuinely interested in him, totally ignoring the warning signs that were practically hanging above his head.

Yuta honestly wished he could do something to stop his mission. He took a good look at Taeyong and only now seemed to notice the bags under his eyes. And as the vampire dragged a hand through his faded pink hair stressfully, Yuta realized that there were a lot of things he didn’t know about the life of a vampire.

“You look tired,” Yuta said casually after a short silence. “Shouldn’t you take a break from tattooing?”

Taeyong let out a sigh. “Tattooing is the only thing that keeps me sane these days.” He let out a frustrated groan. “I have no idea why I’m telling you all of this.”

“Maybe because you can never talk to anyone else about it,” Yuta reasoned. “You don’t want to be a burden for your family and at the sound of it you don’t seem to have a lot of friends.”

Taeyong looked at him with an unreadable expression. A small smile appeared on his pretty lips. “You could be right…” A pause. “Well, anyway, you’re hardly one to talk. You look just as tired.” The vampire actually shot him a grin. “I’m done, by the way. You can put your shirt back on.”

Yuta had never pulled his shirt on as quickly as in that moment. He didn’t even know why. In some way he was embarrassed. And Nakamoto Yuta didn’t get embarrassed easily.

He wanted to say something back, but suddenly Taeyong’s head snapped up as if he seemed to hear something. Yuta looked at him questioningly. “Taeyong, what’s-“

“Shit!” Taeyong hissed and he grabbed Yuta’s arm. Before Yuta knew it, Taeyong used his vampire speed and he was dragged through the room, inside a small toilet stall in the back. Taeyong closed the door, but didn’t lock it and pressed Yuta tightly against the wooden surface with his body, covering his mouth with one of his hands. Yuta was too shocked to react, but he remembered himself being in the same position as in the hospital. And that kind of worried him.

Taeyong had his mouth practically pressed against his ear. “No word, no breath, nothing. Understood?” he whispered softly. Then Taeyong pulled his own head back a little, so they were practically eye to eye. Yuta breathed out through his nose to calm himself down. Then he looked at Taeyong and nodded. Slowly the vampire removed his hand away from Yuta’s mouth, but he kept his body pressed against his. Yuta tried to ignore the fact that he definitely didn’t dislike the way their legs and chests were touching.

“Hyung! Taeyong-hyung!” came the voice, after the familiar jingle of the bell.

It was definitely the same voice as the playful, scary one in the hospital. The one that Taeyong told him would kill him if he was seen. But somehow, even if he should, he wasn’t afraid. There was something calming about Taeyong’s presence, something powerful.

“Hyu-ung?”

Yuta saw Taeyong tensing up, his mouth in a thin line. Then he took his hand from the door and pointed it to his mouth, nudging his head to him. Taeyong wanted him to cover his mouth. Yuta didn’t really know why, but slowly he moved his arms upwards and put both of them over his own mouth. It was hard breathing this way, but it was necessary.

“Maybe he’s upstairs already,” Yuta heard the voice mumble questioningly to himself. Soon he heard a door creak open and close again, footsteps walking up the stairs.

Taeyong let out a sigh of relief and that was the indication for Yuta to let his hands fall to his side again, panting a little by holding his breath for a while.

“He has a very good sense of smell,” Taeyong whispered, for some reason still not pulling back from Yuta, “And your scent…” unconsciously he sniffed a little, “I-it’s very alluring.”

“Oh…” Yuta said and he gulped. Was it? Was his scent alluring to vampires? His eyes crossed Taeyong’s and the other was still _so_ close, that Yuta felt his heartbeat pick up its pace. It was a little uncomfortable. “You can get off of me now,” he said softly.

Taeyong kept looking at him, unmoving, and started to breathe a little heavier. His eyes then went to Yuta’s neck and to the latter’s surprise his eyes shifted from deep brown to a vibrant red.

“J-just another moment,” Taeyong said absentmindedly as he buried his face in Yuta’s neck, nose and mouth pressed against the skin. Yuta tensed up at the action, his heart beating erratically. He swallowed again.

“Taeyong-hyung, what are you-“

“W-We’re planning on going to the woods in three days.”

“H-Huh? what has that to do with-“ Yuta started confusedly, but he immediately shut up when Taeyong pressed almost impossibly closer to him, breathing against his neck.

“We’re going to feed on humans, but only that night. We won’t kill them, I promise. You wanted to keep humans out of harm’s way and want to dispose of vampires that form a threat to them. We’re not like that. I promise you we’re not a threat.”

Yuta remembered his lie he had told Taeyong the other day as a reason why he had come to the shop. A wave of guilt went through his body. Here Taeyong was being terribly honest with him, telling him a secret.

A secret he could use against him.

And all  _he_ did was  _lie._  Yuta hated it. He absolutely hated it.

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked a little too desperately.

“Because I don’t want you to attack us. I don’t want to have to kill you for attacking us. And I don’t want one of my family members to kill you either.”

It was so unfair that it plainly hurt. And so he didn’t know why, but Yuta found himself saying.

“Then… then you can feed on me. All of you…”

The sudden growl against his skin combined with teeth grazing his skin were totally unexpected and Yuta yelped.

“Don’t say… fuck.” Hands grabbed his hips tightly and pressed him against the door a little harder. “It hasn’t been long, but… I’m  _so_ hungry. I-I don’t think I can hold back.” Yuta closed his eyes, feeling nervous. He thought that it must have been hard for them to only feed on the few blood bags they steal every time. He had never considered the other side of the story. And he felt bad for them, he couldn’t help it.

“Just let it go for this once,” Yuta said with more confidence than he felt.

“Your heart is beating so fast, Yuta,” Taeyong whispered against his skin, “S-so fast.” And then Yuta felt the two pointy teeth ghost over his neck. But when they moved to the same spot that they had entered his neck the previous time, Yuta panicked.

“Not there, not- Ah!”

But of course  _that_  was the exact spot Taeyong chose to sink his teeth in his neck. A painful gasp left Yuta’s lips as the teeth pierced his skin. It hurt terribly, but it was a strange type of hurt. A burning sensation that was the worst at his neck, but basically present in his whole body.

Taeyong hungrily mouthed the skin and it seemed more out of control than the previous time. As Taeyong kept sucking his blood, Yuta felt his body become heavier by the seconds. He brought his hands to the vampire’s chest to push him away, but suddenly Taeyong retreated his fangs from his neck.

“It’s so good  _Yuta,_ ” and the latter shivered at the way Taeyong said his name. “I’m not going to share you with them. They won’t be able to hold back.” He was still talking against his neck, hands still gripping his body tightly. And Yuta wondered if Taeyong was really worried about  _him -_ borderline possessive?- _,_ or if he just couldn’t let his family know he was hanging out with a dangerous human.

He couldn’t think for long though, because for the second time Taeyong set his teeth in his neck, only this time it was a little higher than the previous place. It was also rougher than just now and Yuta squeezed his eyes shut, his head now tightly pressed against the wooden door.

It wasn’t only rougher, but also deeper, and Yuta could feel the fangs sink in his artery.

And suddenly the pain was gone. There was only a numb feeling left in his neck and a weird sensation in his body. It felt like he was entering some sort of trance, because his surroundings became a blur and his mind couldn’t think. It was like he was losing control of both his body and mind, not even able to worry about it.

There was only Taeyong.

“Hyung,” Yuta breathed out in a whisper and he grabbed Taeyong’s shoulders. It did still feel uncomfortable, but it felt really _good_ as well.

Once Taeyong’s fangs disappeared from his neck again, Yuta immediately gasped for air as he was pulled out of his trance-like state. When Taeyong drew his head back and their eyes met, Yuta noticed his eyes, still a blood red, and his fangs, still dripping with  _his_  blood. Their heads were close, awfully close, noses almost touching. Yuta couldn’t help but look at the teeth and the plump pink lips surrounding them.  

Yuta just _knew_  they were about to kiss.

And that was something he couldn’t allow.

So he reached behind him and pushed down he handle of the toilet stall door. Taeyong yelped in surprise as both he and Yuta fell through the door. Taeyong, being the vampire with great reflexes, could steady himself rather quickly, but Yuta  _did_ fall to the ground, his ass hitting the floor hard.

He crawled upright with difficulty, weak from the lack of blood and when he was standing upright he almost lost his balance. A hand quickly wrapped around his biceps to steady him.  

“You okay?” came the question and when Yuta looked at the vampire, his eyes and teeth were back to normal. His face and body language screamed ‘embarrassed’ though and Yuta found it endearing somehow. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t really control myself.”

“It’s okay, I kinda let you, didn’t I? and don’t worry. I’m alright.” To be very honest, he was  _not_ okay. He wanted to get home as soon as possible and take a cold shower to wash away all the warm traces Taeyong had left.

“Maybe it’s better if you leave,” Taeyong quickly said and released his arm. Yuta just nodded.

To his own disgust his mind started to work and he thought about what Taeyong had told him. Woods. Them. Alone. It was the perfect opportunity. All he had to do was follow Taeyong and his family and get the humans on that spot to capture them.

Briskly he walked to Taeyong’s desk, took a pen from the holder and a sheet of paper and wrote down his number. Just when he was finished he felt a presence behind him and suddenly a finger brushed over the fang marks on his neck. Surprised Yuta turned around.

Only to be met by a pair of lips.

Yuta should’ve pushed him away, but he found himself returning the kiss as Taeyong softly pressed him against the desk. It was a soft, relaxed movement of lips and to Yuta’s luck it didn’t last long, because after what couldn’t be longer than five seconds the vampire pulled away. “I wanted to do that for a while now,” Taeyong said a little breathlessly and he traced his fingers over Yuta’s neck again “I healed them for you,” he added with a small smile. Then he looked behind Yuta at the desk. “What were you doing?”

Yuta swallowed, still not recovered from the shock of the kiss. The kiss he had tried to avoid from happening. His cheeks were warm and there was  _this feeling_ in his chest. One he hadn’t felt in a long time. He blinked a few times and tried to give him a flirty smile while patting the piece of paper.

“Text me, call me, whatever you like.”

“Are you okay Yuta?” Taeyong asked him with a worried expression.

_Don’t look at me like that._

Yuta forced a smile. “Yeah, Yeah I’m okay, just a little light headed.” He looked at the coat rack and back to Taeyong.

“I think I’ll be going now.” And Taeyong nodded wordlessly. Yuta quickly walked to the coat rack, took the wrong coat from it on purpose and didn’t look back as he walked out of the shop.

When he wrapped the unfamiliar coat around his shoulders, a coat Sooman could use for a locator spell, Yuta felt colder than ever. With a frown he brought his fingers to his lips where the ghost of Taeyong’s were still present.

He had never hated himself more.

 

* * *

 

Dinner was awfully quiet. Unusually so.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Doyoung was currently staring daggers at Taeyong. And the fact that Jaehyun and Sicheng were at a loss of what to do or say. Taeyong himself tried to ignore the constricted feeling in his chest that the guilt caused. As soon as Yuta had left, there had been an immediate regret. He had said too much, had done too much.

And he had a feeling that Doyoung knew what happened. Or at least that something happened with a human involved.

Dinner didn’t last long and when Jaehyun offered to do the dishes, Doyoung had sent him a grateful smile and grabbed Taeyong by the wrist to take him into their shared bedroom. Once inside, he locked the door while the oldest of the two just stood there awkwardly, waiting for the inevitable fight that was to come.

“I don’t know what you did, but I’m  _this close_  to snapping your neck. Again,” Doyoung started, his fists balled next to his body. “You reek of human blood. I’m surprised Sicheng or Jaehyun didn’t call you out for it. But seriously? Did you feed on a fucking client?”

“It wasn’t like that. you know I would never do such a thing,” Taeyong said back immediately. He knew Doyoung was worried about him beneath his anger, worried about all of them.

“Well, tell me what it is then!” He said loudly. “We’re all suffering. We all want blood. And for the second time this week  _you_ broke the rules. Rules you set yourself. I’m not saying this because I’m jealous, I’m saying this because this isn’t  _you._ You’re also being a bad example for Sicheng. He can’t even concentrate well in his classes, because of the lack of blood.”

The words were like a slap in the face.

Taeyong bit his lip in frustration. Sometimes he didn’t even understand himself. He would be angry at Jaehyun for his ideas, but was terribly selfish himself. He hated how he felt so out of control when Yuta was around. It was only the third time they met, and still Taeyong had kissed him, fed on him, told him things…

And then there was Doyoung. Sometimes Taeyong hated that the younger could read him like an open book after so many years together. The other knew practically everything about him, about his mind and body. Hell, they had even been lovers for years before Jaehyun’s grandparents were even born.

Taeyong sat down on the bed and leaned on his thighs, staring at the floor.

“I’m sorry.” And when he heard Doyoung snort, he looked up at his friend. “No, seriously, I am. I-“ he was definitely going to regret saying it. But lying would be worse. He hated lying. He hated liars even more.

“It wasn’t a client. Or at least, not really.” When Doyoung stared at him confusingly he continued. “It was the boy from the hospital.”

Doyoung's fuming expression told him enough.

“Let me finish,” Taeyong said seriously and Doyoung nodded skeptically. “He came to the shop the other day to get a tattoo. He remembered me… and we talked. He just wanted to protect his own kind when he tried to kill me. I- I don’t know why, but ever since he came to the shop I can’t stop thinking about him. I never knew that I missed talking with someone so much. Someone new, someone who doesn’t know me yet... Who I don’t know yet. It’s been  _so long_ , Dongyoung, so long since I had another friend. Someone who knows I’m a vampire, but doesn’t care about it.”

Doyoung sighed and walked over to him, only to sit next to him on the bed.

“You need to break contact with him, Taeyong.”

“I know,” Taeyong answered and to his surprise it made him feel almost sad.

“You know,” Doyoung started, “I get what you mean, I really do. I think, out of all of us, you are probably the one that sacrificed the most. But he remembers you. Us. Don't forget he wanted to kill you and don't forget this is the only safe place we have. I can’t risk that. I’m afraid that your desperateness for human contact is clouding your judgement. Things like this... they will tear us apart if we don't watch out. I want you to be aware that I won’t be afraid to leave if you keep doing this. We've been together for a long time, Taeyong, but Jaehyun's safety is something that I will not put at risk.”

It was a threat. 

And it was one that took Taeyong’s breath away, in the bad sense. It scared him, it scared him more than he thought it would. He didn’t know if he would survive without them. They meant everything to him. Just the thought of not having Doyoung and Jaehyun around hurt. He was definitely going to break contact with Yuta. Because attraction or not, friends or not, he wasn’t going to sacrifice his family for a human who he would outlive eventually. It couldn’t be worth it.

“Don’t worry. I will meet him and break contact. I will even compel him if I have to.”

“Sorry Tae,” Doyoung said and Taeyong was surprised that his friend sounded genuinely sorry. “But it’s the only way.”

Taeyong smiled bitterly. “Yeah...”

The next two nights he still dreamt about Yuta. The first time about killing him, the other time about them holding hands while kissing.

 

* * *

 

Taeyong watched his daylight ring around his middle finger as he walked down the city’s main street. It was busy as expected of a Thursday evening and Taeyong mouthed along with the lyrics that came through his earphones. Besides tattooing, music was something he really enjoyed. If it got too quiet around him, music was there to keep him company. And living for such a long time definitely made him appreciative towards all kinds of genres.

After texting for a little while, he and Yuta had decided to meet up at Yuta’s apartment. The plan was simple. Go there, say hi and say goodbye. Preferably by compelling him to forget about his existence.

Somehow Taeyong felt both relieved and sad about it. He was still a little suspicious of the human. He couldn’t help it. For Taeyong it had always been hard trusting people. He lived long enough to know how it could end up if you trusted the wrong person. However, with Yuta he felt different. He felt freer than he had been in ages. It was an addictive feeling, only fueled on by the human’s delicious blood.

He sighed. Maybe he could get another kiss before he said goodbye. Yes, he would definitely go for that. He still remembered Yuta’s lips against his. Somehow that had felt more intimate than actually sucking his blood. Taeyong had always been a sucker for good kisses. Despite his sometimes tough looking exterior, he was a soft and loving person.

After walking for another while, the navigation app on his phone finally told him he had arrived at his destination. He took out his earphones and let them hang over the collar of his hoodie. He looked at the apartment. It wasn’t big and from the outside it looked rather old and even a little battered. He smiled. Living alone as a human could be pretty hard, especially financially wise. He knew all about it.

Before he could knock on the door, however, it suddenly swung open and Taeyong was welcomed by Yuta’s figure, leaning against the doorpost, smiling at him tiredly.

“Hey,” The human said.

“Hi.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds. It was unfair how fast his confidence in breaking the contact could crumble just by seeing Yuta. The latter, unaware of his struggle, opened the door a little wider.

“Well do you want to keep standing there all day or do you want to come in?”

Taeyong scratched his cheek awkwardly. He hated it when this happened.

“Well… I’m a vampire remember. You uh… need to invite me in.”

And Yuta just plainly laughed at him. He wanted to get irritated, but he couldn’t. Yuta’s laugh was so bright, so nice to listen to, he couldn’t help but return the smile.

“As much as I’m tempted to just let you stand there, I feel a little bad and I’ve been quite looking forward seeing you again.” The last part was said a little softer and it gave Taeyong a pleasant feeling. Yuta continued. “So you can come in.”

And with that Taeyong grinned at the human and stepped inside. He closed the door softly and pulled off his shoes to set them under the coat rack. Then he shuffled to the living room and kitchen where Yuta was preparing two glasses of wine at the counter.

Taeyong couldn’t help but notice how the human looked differently from when he had seen him in the tattoo shop. His hair was down, no products used, just its original, fluffy self. He was wearing an oversized knitted sweater and just regular jeans. He looked a lot younger like that. Also a lot cuter when he wasn’t displaying his manliness by short sleeved shirts and tight pants.

Without a word Yuta approached him and handed him one of the glasses.

“You drink wine right?” Yuta asked him.

Taeyong hummed a ‘yeah’ and took the glass. Their hands brushed and Yuta shot him an almost smug smile.

It was awkwardly silent after that, both of them sipping their wine and watching each other. It was a strange atmosphere and Taeyong felt a familiar anticipation fill his gut. It was enough for him to remember  _why_ he was here.

“As much as I appreciate your company,” Taeyong eventually began, “I think… I think this has to be the last time we meet.”

It seemed to surprise Yuta, but the human was good in masking it.

“Why? Am I not appealing enough?” Luckily he said it in a light, playful tone. Taeyong shook his head and quickly took a larger gulp from his wine. “It’s definitely not  _that,_ ” he continued. “It’s just… I’m not ready.”

“I didn’t know we were at  _that stage_  already,” Yuta said with a raised eyebrow. Taeyong let out a frustrated huff and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

“Shut up. I don’t mean it like that. what I mean is that I’m not ready to trust someone like this. One of my family members knows about you and I can’t risk bringing them in danger.” As he watched Yuta, he saw a sad expression cross his face. He couldn’t help but step closer to him. Yuta was not amused.

“Don’t even think about compelling me. It won’t work,” Yuta said while pointing at him accusingly. It sounded a little angry, but there was a different emotion in his eyes as well. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, as much as I wished you could.” Taeyong didn’t really understand what Yuta meant with that.

“Why wouldn’t it work?”

“Why do you want to compel me?”

Okay, fair enough. Taeyong looked at Yuta’s figure and only now noticed just how tired he looked. Before he could say something, Yuta finished his glass in one go and walked to the kitchen counter to place the empty glass on top of it.

“You think you can feed on me, kiss me and then throw me away? You might’ve done it before, since you’ve lived for so long. But I’m still human.”

That definitely struck a nerve with Taeyong, because he had never done that before. Vampire or not, he was a gentle person. He headed towards Yuta and placed his glass next to the human’s. “I already told you that I’m not doing this because I don’t want to see you. It’s not you. I just can’t do this. Why don’t you let me compel you? You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“You can’t just erase your problems,” Yuta shot back.

Taeyong pressed his lips in a thin line. In one smooth movement he had Yuta pinned against the counter, looking right in his eyes. He had to do this. It was the only way. Yuta wasn’t wrong, he couldn’t just erase his problems. But this was necessary.

There was a little hurt in Yuta’s eyes. Their faces were close once again and Taeyong could feel Yuta’s breath against his lips. Lips he remembered being soft and sweet tasting.

“It’ll be over in a second,” He breathed out. He couldn’t help but reach out with his hand to remove some of Yuta’s bangs from his eyes. The grey lenses were there again, but somehow Taeyong wished he could see the original color of his eyes as well.

Yuta’s hands tangled in the front of his hoodie. “These contacts,” He started in a whisper, looking at only Taeyong's lips, “they are made so that I can’t be compelled.” And Taeyong saw the other lick his lips. Yuta’s words finally settled in his mind and Taeyong’s eyes widened.

“What?”

Yuta just kept looking at his lips, cocking his head a little to the side and pulling Taeyong’s body closer. “So, unless you want to rip them out of my eyes, I’m not going to forget about you.”

There was a spark in Taeyong’s chest. This time it wasn’t hunger that took the overhand though, this time it was a different feeling. A burning desire to kiss, to touch. Taeyong could smell Yuta. It was overwhelming his senses and felt almost domestic, especially since they were in  _his_ apartment.

“One kiss,” he said, this time looking at Yuta’s lips as well. “One kiss and then we have to part ways. It doesn’t matter if you forget me or not. We part after tonight.”

The corners of Yuta’s mouth turned up. “I can live with that.”

And then Yuta roughly tugged on his collar and crushed their lips together. It wasn’t soft as the first time. Their mouths moved together hungrily and Yuta’s hands moved upwards to his neck. Taeyong felt alive. The little spark in his chest was back full force and started to expand to the rest of his body. Yuta’s hands on him felt hot and welcome, and when Yuta licked his bottom lip, Taeyong opened his mouth to let the other’s tongue enter.

Their chests rubbed together every time their lips moved over each other roughly and Taeyong wanted more. He wanted to  _feel_ again. Wanted to know how it was to be with a human again. So, he moved his hands on Yuta’s hips up, under his sweater, and like that he easily lifted him up to place him on top of the kitchen counter. Yuta made a sound when it happened. They broke apart temporarily.

“For a moment I forgot you vampires are stronger than us,” Yuta panted with a laugh. Then, to Taeyong’s surprise, Yuta wrapped his legs around his waist and moved his hands to the hem of his hoodie.

“W-What are you doing?” Taeyong asked dumbly, somewhere already knowing the answer. Yuta’s eyes were serious when he said the next words.

“If this is the last time we'll see each other, let’s make it a fucking night we’ll never forget.”

Taeyong gaped at Yuta who was now pulling on his hoodie. He lifted his arms and let the human slip the garment off.

Yuta gasped at the sight in front of him and Taeyong felt incredibly proud.

“Fuck that’s hot.”

And Taeyong smiled and laid his hands on Yuta’s thighs, fully aware of his inked skin.

“Did I just expose one of your kinks, Yuta?” He said teasingly and similarly to the way Yuta had said to him two days ago. He pulled him down by his sweater and nipped on his bottom lip. “You can touch them if you want.”

And that’s what Yuta did. They kissed again, passionately, and Yuta’s long, graceful fingers danced over his torso. Taeyong couldn’t even remember the last time he had been touched like that. He loved every second of it. A whimper even escaped his lips when Yuta started rubbing his nipples.

Soon Yuta’s sweater was gone as well, forgotten on the ground and they kept making out hotly. Their desperation for intimate human contact was almost embarrassing, but both didn't mind. Eventually Yuta pulled away to breathe. He trailed a finger down Taeyong’s chest, lower and lower. Right above the hem of his jeans he stopped.

“You can drink my blood if you want.”

Taeyong couldn’t help it, but he found his body heating up at the statement. His fangs popped out and he let his eyes shift to red. Yuta stared at him intensely. He even reached out to touch one of the teeth, pressing the pad of his finger right on the point and breaking the skin. With a grin Yuta prodded the finger against his lips.

Taeyong, totally captivated by the human’s actions, parted his lips slightly in response and let the digit slip inside. he wrapped his tongue around it and sucked on it, all the while keeping eye-contact with Yuta, whose breathing had become obviously heavier. The sweet, ironlike taste of Yuta’s blood was amazing. When Yuta pulled back his finger, Taeyong quickly took Yuta down from the kitchen counter so that they were on eyelevel again. The lustful, hazy look in Yuta’s eyes made Taeyong shiver in anticipation.

“Do it now before I change my mind,” Yuta whispered and Taeyong felt the familiar hunger and a new desire take over. He didn’t waste any time and brought his teeth to the human’s neck, letting them sink into the skin immediately. He wasn’t gentle. He knew that it wouldn't make a difference.

To his utter surprise Yuta moaned softly. It was all the encouragement Taeyong needed to roll his hips forward strongly. Yuta’s body shuddered against him, a whine escaping his lips and Taeyong loved it. His previous bedpartners had almost all been fellow vampires, who thought they could dominate him just because of his rather small stature. But now he felt more confident, able to let out his own, more dominant side.

He felt Yuta fumble with the buttons of his pants and he sucked harder on the human’s neck in return. The whole situation aroused him. 

And then, suddenly, the lock of the apartment turned and the door was opened.

***

Yuta was drowning in everything that was Taeyong. Every fiber in his body was reacting to the vampire’s touches, whether it were the teeth buried in his neck or his hips pressed against his own. There was no place for thinking. Right now he was just Yuta, currently trying to get into Taeyong’s pants.

But all of those feelings disappeared as soon as he heard the door of his apartment open.

With a gasp Yuta opened his eyes and pushed Taeyong away. There was a pain in his neck where the teeth tore the skin a little and Taeyong blinked at him confusedly.

“Hey Yuta, can we talk about-“ came a voice, but it trailed off in the end. Horrified, Yuta turned towards the source, dread filling his gut as he met eyes with Taeil, who was staring at them with a shocked, borderline disgusted look on his face as he took in their half-naked bodies.

There was an all-consuming panic in his body and he started to breath irregularly.

“Get out, get out,” he hissed at Taeyong, who was looking at him with a shocked expression.

“Calm do-“

“Get out now!” He said and he pushed Taeyong’s chest again. Anxiously he looked at Taeil who was now taking on a difference stance.

One to attack.

“Now Taeyong!”

There was a confused, almost hurt look in his eyes, but when Taeyong looked at Taeil as well and connected the dots, he nodded and used his vampire speed to pick up his shirt and storm out of the apartment. Taeil didn’t even have time to attack as the door swung closed.

Yuta sank to his knees with a shaking breath. He didn't know if it was out of relief, the lack of blood, fear... He felt himself starting to hyperventilate, holding his neck with a hand.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Yuta,” Taeil said angrily while heading towards him. He sank down in front of him and took his hand from his neck. “Are you serious? Fuck, you're covered in blood. Don't tell me... Was that-?”

“The vampire I need to capture, yes, Taeil, that was him,” Yuta heard himself say with a half laugh. He wasn’t looking at the other, just at the floor. His heart was still beating erratically as there was a moment of silence.

“Why are you taking this so far?”

Blame it on his tiredness of not sleeping after endless dreams about Taeyong, blame it on his current shitty situation, but Yuta felt a bile rise to his throat. He hit the floor with his fist, looking at his friend with teary eyes.

“Do you think I planned this? Do you think I wanted to- fuck! Fuck everything!” He stood up from his sitting position, immediately steadying himself on the counter when the room spun around him.

“Don’t tell Baekhyun, please don’t tell him, I beg you Taeil-hyung.” He said softly, desperately.

“It depends on your intentions.”

Yuta felt like going crazy. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Hyung, I don’t know.”

“I came to talk to you about  _your_  plan. If it’s still on, I will forget this and won’t tell Baekhyun-hyung. If you changed your mind, I will give you ten minutes to pack and run as far away as you can.” The words were harsh, but Yuta had expected them. He had expected way worse. He tried to think. There only seemed to be one answer.

“It’s still on,” he breathed out. His neck hurt, his chest hurt, everything hurt at saying those three words. He doubled over at the feeling that made him want to throw up on the spot.

Suddenly he was turned around by an invisible force. He faced Taeil, who had his eyes closed, one of his arms raised.

“ _Asinta Mulaf Hinto, Sho Bala”_

And Yuta immediately felt his panic ebb away, the pain in his neck and chest reducing to nothing more than a dull leftover feeling. Taeil opened his eyes again.

“It was a pain reducing spell. It doesn’t heal you, but at least it takes away most of the pain. It also helps against panic attacks, which, by the way, you were having just now."

“Why?” Yuta choked out. he didn’t deserved to be healed like this. How could he hold on to his humanity if he didn’t feel the pain his wrong decision’s caused?

“Because we need to hurry. If these humans are experimenting on the supernatural as you said then we have no time to lose. Tomorrow is our best chance at catching the vampires and I need you to be attentive, preferably without being in pain.”

A little pause. Then a sigh.

“You’re not a bad person Yuta… You just make a lot of stupid decisions that get you and everyone else into trouble. I’m worried you won’t make it if I don’t help you.”

Yuta let the words settle in his brain and took a stuttering breath. He felt his neck with his hand and it came back red, covered in blood.

“L-Let me clean up. Then we’ll talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _for any confusion: Taeyong healed the puncture marks on Yuta's neck right before the first kiss by pricking his own finger with his fangs and brushing it over the wounds. There is no vampire blood in Yuta's system because of it_
> 
>  
> 
> And another chapter down! Poor Taeyong keeps contradicting himself smh. Oh boy the trouble he’s getting himself into… It might’ve been a bit rushed. But sometimes you don’t need a lot of meetings to feel the attraction:) next chapter will contain more real action. It will basically be all about the mission in the woods. (I finally started planning out this fic properly) 
> 
> I would really like to know your thoughts about this chapter! I mean, I think I want to continue this story, but it also takes a lot of effort since it’s going to be quite long. So I’d like to know if you think it’s worth it.  
> ~honEy D | [my twitter](https://twitter.com/softyukkuri)


	5. Capitulum V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _In which plans don't work out the way they expected... and there are no winners._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m incredibly sorry for the late update, life was being a huuuge pain in the ass:( Thank you so much for 100 kudos and all the comments on the last chapters. It means so much.  
> This chapter doesn’t contain a lot of YuTae, but it’s a really important turning point in the story. This one is going to be quite action packed, so be prepared! 
> 
> I suggest to reread at least a little part of the last chapter, since it has been so long, but if you don’t want to, these are things to keep in mind  
> \- Yuta took the wrong coat on purpose with him when he left the tattoo shop, to give it to Sooman to perform a locator spell.  
> \- the vampires are going to the woods to feed on humans.  
> \- Yuta knows this fact and plans to follow them with Taeil -> The vampires are walking into a trap 
> 
> A million thanks to my beta Eden<3  
> Enjoy lovelies~

Taeyong watched Doyoung fidget in his seat nervously. The four of them were currently sitting at their dinner table; he and Doyoung on one side, Jaehyun and Sicheng on the other.

His friend was still doubting the whole plan, which didn’t surprise him. Doyoung had always been the most cautious one in their group. He wasn’t one to take risks and would rather hold on to the life they had now, even if it meant they weren’t as free as they would’ve liked.

Taeyong also knew that his friend didn’t use to be like that. Sure, Doyoung had always been someone with brains, keeping _him_ from doing stupid things. However, after turning Jaehyun something had changed in Doyoung. Taeyong didn’t know if Jaehyun knew it but Doyoung had feelings for him, ones that went deeper than just brotherly affection. He had had them for a long time and the emotion had created some sort of new protectiveness in Taeyong’s longtime friend.

In contrast, Jaehyun was almost the exact opposite of Doyoung’s cautious manner; he  always preferred reaching for the limits and taking risks.  Until now, that had always ended on a positive note. Jaehyun wasn’t careless, he was just bold.

But the pair’s differences had resulted in clashes on more than one occasion, and Taeyong knew Doyoung was afraid that Jaehyun’s ideas would make _him_ less careful, resulting in dangerous situations.

About dangerous situations… Taeyong was still at a loss of what to do with the whole Yuta issue. Their goodbye yesterday had been unexpected,and for some reason it wasn’t a parting he was satisfied with. He couldn’t believe that _that_ would have to be the last time seeing the human. Due to the lack of fulfilment, It was hard to sleep after what happened last night. Naturally he also had to lie to Doyoung about having finished everything between them. In his defense, he could hardly tell his friend he and Yuta were about to have sex and were interrupted by a witch. Not to mention not being able to compel Yuta because of his contacts. The whole situation gave him a headache.

However, he couldn’t help but feel his chest constrict pleasantly at the memory of Yuta’s body against his and their lips moving together hotly. It had felt _so right._ Yuta had an interesting vibe around him, something that pulled Taeyong in. He didn’t know if he was ready to give that up. He quickly shook the thoughts away. Those problems were for another day. Right now he had something else to focus on.

“Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time,” Taeyong suggested in a serious tone. The rest nodded.

Jaehyun dragged a hand through his brown hair. “We split up in two groups. Doyoung and I, and you and Sicheng. We’ll go to the woods and search for people who are camping there. We go for couples or a few friends, but no large groups.” Then he nodded his head to Taeyong and Doyoung. “You will help us ‘not lose control’, which I have repeatedly told you is not necessary but whatever. No one listens to me anyway,” Jaehyun said a little accusingly.

Doyoung leaned his chin in his palm. “Yup, you’re right. Go on.”

It resulted in an irritated look from Jaehyun. Taeyong rolled his eyes. “Sicheng, why don’t you continue?”

Sicheng sat a little straighter in his chair and nodded. It was obvious that he was anticipating the mission a lot. It had been a long time since he had had fresh human blood.

“Right…” the originally Chinese vampire started. “We feed on the humans and then compel them to forget. After we are done, we meet up at the edge of the woods. We don’t leave until we’re all together again. If something happens, we use our earpieces to contact each other.” Then Sicheng grinned a little. “And we can’t lose them like you did, hyung.”

Taeyong groaned.

Doyoung clapped his hands happily. “That’s right, Sichengie.”

Jaehyun shoved his chair backwards and stood up. “Okay, now that that’s settled, I think it’s time we finally do this.”

Doyoung sighed and looked at Taeyong. Their eyes met and there was a mutual understanding. They were both worried, but there was also no turning back now. Taeyong also spotted a different spark in his friend’s eyes - Thrill. Eagerness. It was a nice change.

“Alright,” Doyoung said after letting out a deep sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”

Once they were downstairs, the quartet quickly put on their jackets. All if them were waiting at the door for Doyoung, who was still rummaging through the few coats on the coat rack.

“Dongyoung? Can you please hurry up?” Taeyong sighed, reverting to the other’s original name. He got a huff back in response.

“Where is my jacket? I'm sure I left it here.”

“Just take a random one, hyung,” Jaehyun said impatiently, itching to open the door.

Doyoung shot the three of them a filthy look, before grabbing a random coat and pulling it on. Taeyong held the door open to let them all out. When Doyoung passed he started murmuring irritably.

“That coat was fucking expensive and now I have to wear this uncomfortable thing… My shoulders don't even fit.”

Taeyong ignored it, but when he locked the door of his shop it felt like there was something not right. He shrugged the feeling off. No need to get worried over something that doesn't exist.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure you can trace them by just his phone number?” Taeil asked from behind him. The witch was leaning over the backrest of the couch to watch Yuta work on his laptop.

Yuta smiled at his screen. “Yup, I learned to do it when I was seventeen. It’s not that hard.” He continued typing. “It’s just… You have to know what you’re doing.”

Taeil sighed. “I’ll make sure to switch off my phone more often.”

“Whatever makes you happy, hyung,” Yuta said a little teasingly.

Taeil walked around the couch and took place next to Yuta. He chose his words carefully. “How is the pain?”

Yuta stopped typing for a moment. Yesterday he had carelessly put some bandaids on the wounds on his neck, but he had removed them today and opted for a turtleneck instead. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered how close he and Taeyong were to… He had wanted it. At that moment he had wanted nothing else than to let himself drown into Taeyong. The pleasant feeling was immediately replaced by a colder feeling.

“The pain is alright, the guilt however…” Yuta started truthfully, continuing his work. “It’s probably what hurts the most.”

“I can’t take _that_ away with a spell though.” There was a little pity in the other’s voice. “I’m going to prepare the cloaking spell. It’s not that hard, but I need to be focused and channel my energy  elsewhere so that Baekhyun-hyung won’t easily notice.”

A worried frown appeared on Yuta’s face. “He can do that?” he asked. Taeil nodded. “Yeah, everyone has a different energy, and since I’m his student he knows it well. He will only notice if he intentionally concentrates on doing it, but I’m not taking any risks.”

The cloaking spell was intended to hide both Yuta and Taeil from being seen by humans or vampires. When Yuta had met up with Sooman yesterday to go over the plan and deliver the coat he had taken from the tattoo shop, there was a significant change: instead of helping capture them, Sooman had asked - rather demanded - for Yuta to stay put at home while the humans captured the vampires. That was a suspicious change, because at first the goal had been killing them. Having seen the dungeons with his own eyes, Yuta honestly didn’t know which option was worse.  When the mission succeeded, the humans would contact him again. It frustrated Yuta since he had been hoping they would finally trust him. But apparently he was seen as a liability. Sooman’s change of heart had alarmed Yuta quite a bit. He didn’t like the man’s unpredictable ideas, or _his_ involvement in _those_ ideas.

But if the humans were thinking Yuta would obey that easily, they were wrong. Because Yuta wasn’t going to sit still and do nothing. First of all, he had the feeling they were hiding something from him. Secondly, he needed to see everything for himself - what he had done. To see what would be the best way to help the supernatural community eventually. And how he could defeat his own kind.

And so he had decided to follow the vampires to see what would happen. Taeil joining him had been an unexpected but not unappreciated addition to the plan.

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Yes. Be quiet.”

Yuta snorted. “I can do that.”

After that, the only thing that could be heard were the sounds of Yuta’s fingers moving over his keyboard and Taeil softly repeating a spell in Latin. It didn’t take long for Yuta to finish his work, because soon enough he had hacked into Taeyong’s phone -   _luckily_ it was still turned on - and a red dot appeared on the map on his screen. He transferred the information to his own phone quickly. At the moment, the vampire was still in the tattoo shop, but when they would start to move Yuta could easily notice.

And that would be his and Taeil’s cue to follow.

It wasn’t easy to recover from yesterday. He had barely slept last night and he could feel his focus slip away now and then. However, he couldn’t fail. He had to win the humans’ trust to go to the dungeons again. He _had_ to. He owed it to Taeil, to Baekhyun, and, to a certain extent, to himself . He really wanted to clear his conscience, as far as that was possible.

“I’m done,” Taeil said as he opened his eyes and looked at Yuta.

“Me too,” Yuta answered. He closed his laptop. “So, how does it work?”

“Physical contact isn’t necessary, but you will have to stay close to me for it to work properly. When I cast the spell nobody can see nor hear us. They might smell us, but if they can’t hear us they shouldn’t be suspicious.”

Yuta whistled. Taeil always managed to impress him. There weren’t many witches his age that were so powerful. Or they might be powerful, but had no idea how to use their powers in the right way. Yuta stood up and walked towards Taeil.

“Thank you for helping me.”

Taeil sighed. “Well, don’t get used to it. You know the guilt is only going to get worse, right?”

Yuta laid a hand over the place where his tattoo was situated. Images of Taeyong filled his mind.  His serious gaze while tattooing the girl’s arm in his orange hoodie, his red eyes staring right into Yuta’s own dark brown ones. The vampire’s half naked body in front of him, black ink adorning his skin…

Yuta balled his fists. Oh, he knew.

“I’m going to save them all. I might put him there, but I will also be the one to get him out of there.”

“‘Him?’” asked Taeil. “I thought the focus was on Hansol.”

it sounded a little accusingly. Yuta quickly shook his head.

“It is. He’s our first priority. But if I’m already there, the least I can do is save as many people as possible.”

“Don’t act like the hero, Yuta,” Taeil said softly, his brows furrowed. “You’re acting like it’s all going to go your way. I don’t have a good feeling about this. You’re a human... Let’s be honest here, what are you thinking you can achieve on your own?”

Yuta refused to think like that and didn’t answer.

“Just cast the damn spell.”

 

* * *

 

After driving to the woods and dispersing into their hunting pairs, Taeyong and Sicheng found themselves walking side by side through an open space within the forest. They had walked around for at least forty-five minutes after they had split up from the others, but they hadn’t found anyone yet. The area they were now walking through was a place Taeyong had grown familiar with over the years. They had just passed an old well; he remembered hanging out there with his human friends decades ago.

He also knew that the bones of one of those friends were at the bottom of that exact well.

“So… How is it going with school?” Taeyong decided to ask, hoping to break the silence and lighten his own dark mood.

“Okay, I guess,” Sicheng answered, “I’m studying a lot these days since my exams are close.”

_Exams?_

It had been a long time since Taeyong last had to worry about something like that. He felt bad that he didn’t know Sicheng was going through that right now. Now he really thought about it, there was probably a lot about the youngest vampire that he didn’t know. All because he simply never asked. And Sicheng wasn’t the best at voicing his feelings and communicating in general, despite being cute, bubbly and smart.

Taeyong felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

“Sorry for taking you on this mission so suddenly… I- I didn’t know.”

Sicheng shot him a smile. “It’s okay, hyung. We need the blood to survive. I don’t mind.” Then a little shyly he added, “And I don’t mind spending more time with you either.”

The older vampire couldn’t help but smile at that. While he was a little anxious, he too cherished moments like this; being with his protégé, teaching him the ways of being a vampire, just spending quality time with family… After all, he saw Siching as his own little brother.

“I like it a lot too.”

After a short silence, he decided to ask another question. “What do you want to do in the future? I know you’re studying Korean to become a translator… And, by the way you’re Korean really improved in this last year.”

Sicheng looked at him with wide eyes, obviously flattered by the compliment. “Thank you, Taeyong-hyung.” Then he looked in front of him again. “I- I’m actually not quite sure yet… I mainly wanted to study Korean to become better at communicating with you and other humans…”

“Oh.” Taeyong didn’t really know what to say. Had the younger always felt burdened that he wasn’t fluent? Had this been on his mind a lot? He felt like the worst big brother in the world.

“You know, hyung…” Sicheng continued. “I actually really want to have my own shop as well, just like you. I love flowers a lot… They’re really pretty and I was never allowed to have them when I was still a human... So the first shop I want to own would be a flower shop.”

_‘I was never allowed to have them.’_

Taeyong balled his fist as he recalled the first time he found Sicheng in the attic of an abandoned house; beaten up, shaking from the cold, eyes empty with a hint of madness…

Taeyong looked sideways at the younger - he was smiling, his eyes sparkling with passion in the moonlight. Taeyong didn’t know why but he felt proud of the other. Proud at how much he had changed. Owning a shop wasn’t easy, but he was sure that if Sicheng put all his hard work, love and passion into it, he’d succeed.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Sicheng looked back at him, rubbing his neck. “It’s just a silly dream. You are so busy these days… I didn’t want to bother you.”

Taeyong bit his lip. “It’s not silly,” he said resolutely. Then he shuffled closer to the younger vampire and linked their arms together. “From now on, please tell me everything. Don’t keep it all to yourself.”

The other giggled, “Hyung is so cute sometimes.”

As if a switch was turned, the mood changed suddenly as Taeyong’s head perked up and he sniffed the air.

“I smell blood.”

Sicheng shot his maker a confused look, before he too could smell the sweet scent of blood. The younger stiffened, biting his lip not all too softly. Taeyong quickly pulled him along towards the direction where the source would be.

When he spotted the human, he quickly yanked the younger on the ground behind a bush. It was a girl. Alone. It was strange.  It was around midnight, and who was crazy enough to wander through the woods alone? She was blonde and pretty; even in the dark that much was obvious.

She huffed as she held a hand that she had apparently hurt to her chest. “Seyong! Stop playing games, this isn’t funny!”

Taeyong felt adrenaline pumping through his veins. This would be the perfect opportunity. Sicheng next to him licked his lips in anticipation. Without waiting any longer Taeyong rose on his feet, and before the girl could even scream he used his vampire speed to stand before her, letting their eyes meet.

“Don’t make a sound.” She shut her mouth immediately.

He gestured for Sicheng to come closer. He just wanted to offer the younger her wrist, until there was suddenly some noise coming from his earpiece.

_“Tae! Taeyong!”_

Taeyong quickly brought his hand to the little device. His friend’s voice sounded obviously distressed.

“Dongyoung? What’s the mat-”

_“Please help us! They shot Jaehyun. I-”_

There were sounds of fighting. A cold shiver ran down the older vampire’s spine. “W-what? Calm down, okay? Where are you right now?” There was some rustling on the other side. Taeyong was alarmed instantly.

_“I don’t know! Please, Taeyong, they have wooden bullets and- NO!”_

Doyoung’s scream chilled Taeyong through the bone and ignited a fear in his heart. Without a second thought, he grabbed Sicheng by the shoulders and shouted a “Come with me now”, before running towards his friends as fast as he could - pushing his vampire powers to the max. He used his great hearing abilities to locate the fight.

He prayed to every god he had ever encountered that he would be in time.  

 

* * *

 

The leaves crumbled under their feet as Doyoung and Jaehyun made their way through the woods, having strayed from the path long ago. It was important to stay hidden while searching for the humans they were going to feed on.

It always amazed Doyoung that people still _voluntarily_ camped in the dark forest, fully knowing the risks and aware of the missing cases reports. A free camping space was apparently more important than their safety.... Humans were truly stupid, if you asked Doyoung.

Jaehyun was walking in front of him, back straight, head darting to different sides to be on his guard. Even though he was attentive, he still looked almost relaxed. Being a vampire suited Jaehyun.

Doyoung had never really doubted Jaehyun’s capabilities of controlling himself. He had never seemed to have any problem with it, even at the start. But still, there was something inside Doyoung that needed to stay on guard, that needed to be protective of this man. He was his maker - any mistake Jaehyun would make, would be _his._

They made up a few days ago, however Doyoung still felt a certain awkward atmosphere surrounding them. It was frustrating, but he sincerely hoped that today was going to change that. Maybe it was time to let Jaehyun go and give him more space and freedom. And he should start by letting the other know that.

“I do trust you, you know… “ Doyong eventually said in soft tone. Jaehyun just kept walking.

“You certainly have a weird way of showing it.”

And immediately the urge to snap back at the younger was back, but Doyoung held his tongue. “I just wanted to tell you that, that's all.”

Jaehyun let out a huff. “Thanks.” After a short silence, he let out a sigh.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. I'm just…” Jaehyun apologized. “I don’t think you have any idea how hard it is to always be thought of as being less experienced, always being seen as some sort of child.  Even if I have proved over and over again that I'm not. The fact that you’re older than me, that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m nearing eighty... It might sound stupid, but I miss the times you and I were more than _this_. I always thought that time would bring us closer. But instead it feels like we’re drifting apart more and more.”

“Don’t say that,” Doyoung snapped. He didn’t want to hear those words. Their relationship had been on his mind a lot. Did he have feelings for Jaehyun in a romantic way? Probably. But somehow it didn’t feel safe. Somehow, to Doyoung, it felt like as soon as he would give in to those feelings things would become harder, more dangerous.  

He was afraid that he would lose Jaehyun that way. He didn’t know if the risk was worth it.

Suddenly Doyoung heard some faraway voices with his  great hearing abilities - another advantage as a vampire. With his vampire speed he quickly passed Jaehyun and held an arm in front of the other’s chest to restrain him from continuing walking.

“Humans. They're close. Stay on your guard”

Jaehyun nodded without saying anything;  the mood had turned serious instantly.Together they cautiously continued their walk, following the human’s voices. As they got closer, Doyoung couldn’t help but feel more nervous. Nervous _and_ excited. He had once been so familiar with feeding on people, but it had been a long time… Jaehyun had probably noticed it, because before Doyoung knew it there was a ghost of a breath against the shell of his ear.

“Trust me for once. Just let yourself go tonight.”

Doyoung kept quiet, contemplating whether it would be a good idea or not.

The voices grew nearer and soon they had to hide behind some trees to refrain from being seen by the couple that was sitting around a fire, having a fun conversation. A small tent was standing a few feet away.

Doyoung’s first instinct was to abort mission. But after his initial step backwards, he was held still by a hand on his lower back. Doyoung turned his head to his protegé.

“Jae…” he whispered. “We can’t do this. Look at them, I-”

“We will compel them to forget. They won’t even know.”

“It doesn’t feel right…”

Jaehyun sighed deeply. “If you don’t join, I will do it on my own.”

And with that Jaehyun stepped out of the protection of the trees, into the orange light from the fire. The couple’s eyes turned towards him immediately, and their excited chatter died in their throats. It was like a blanket of silence was draped across the scene.

“W-who are you?” The male said, pulling his girlfriend closer by her arm.

“Me?” Jaehyun asked casually. He quickly looked at Doyoung and winked at him, before turning back to the couple and letting his eyes turn to red. “I’m just a simple nightmare by the end of this night.”   

He didn’t waste any time and used his vampire speed to grab the male by the hood of his jacket as he attempted to run away. Doyoung could see Jaehyun saying something to the man, probably a compulsion, before setting his teeth in his neck.

The smell of blood was immediate, and unwillingly Doyoung’s fangs popped out, his eyes turning the same blood red color as his friend’s.

The girl screamed and ran away. She didn’t get far, however, because Doyoung chased her and turned her around. His eyes met her scared ones, but the only thing he could think about was the hunger inside. Without averting his eyes he laced his voice with power.

“Keep quiet. After I’m done, you will go to your tent and sleep. This was just a bad dream.”

When he saw her teary eyes, he couldn’t help but add,

“Don’t fear me.”

And when he sank the fangs in the delicate flesh of her neck, she didn’t.

When the iron-infused taste of her fresh blood hit his tongue, a surge of power went through him like a lightning bolt. It set his nerves aflame. Why hadn't they done this earlier? Why would they have denied themselves from _this heavenly feeling_ all along?

A sudden spark of reality came back to him, and Doyoung immediately drew back from the human to calm down and get himself together. He knew he had just been close to losing control. Like a freaking youngster.

How embarrassing for a one hundred and eighty five year old vampire.

With a labored breath he pierced the skin of the woman again, this time a bit more slowly, resisting his desperate desire for fresh blood. His eyes skimmed over the scenery in the meantime.

As if fate wanted to mock him he locked eyes with Jaehyun, who was too still feeding on the male. Doyoung didn't like the growl that escaped his throat at the image.

Then Jaehyun gestured for him to come to him. Without hesitation, Doyoung retreated his fangs from the girl’s neck and, as if in a trance, he headed towards the other. His gorgeous Jaehyun.

The younger vampire turned the man in his hold around and offered Doyoung his wrist. His eyes not leaving Jaehyun’s, Doyoung grabbed the wrist and pierced the skin immediately with his teeth. The man didn’t make a sound, but he himself _did._ Because there was a certain intimacy about sharing a human - it was addictive and left a tingling feeling behind in his whole body. Jaehyun must’ve felt it as well, because he let out  a low moan.

Jaehyun drew back from the man’s neck and Doyoung watched him in astonishment; Jaehyun’s hair was messy, his pupils were blown wide, and blood covered his lips, dripping down his chin. In one swift movement Doyoung let go of the human’s wrist and moved to stand in front of the other vampire. It was like the new influx of blood had released him from his inhibitions, allowing him to do what he had longed for as he cupped Jaehyun’s face and licked from his chin right to the corner of his mouth. The bloody taste mixed with the salty texture of Jaehyun’s skin was delightful. Doyoung licked his own lips after and looked Jaehyun right in his vibrant red eyes. The other just regarded him in shock.

“D-Doyoung I-”

Said man shushed him with a finger on his lips. “You said that I should let go,” he whispered. He removed his finger and instead leaned forward, “Don’t make me regret it.”

And with that he closed the distance between them.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Doyoung knew that he had crossed a line just now. But as he pushed Jaehyun against the base of a nearby tree with his vampire speed, attacking his mouth with vigor, he couldn’t find himself to care. This was their moment. Hands grabbed his waist in a bruising grip and Doyoung moved his hands under the hem of Jaehyun’s coat and shirt to skim over his abs and the dip of his waist, to roam his broad chest.

It was hot, it was messy, and it was driving Doyoung insane. Every little touch set his nerves on fire. Every time Jaehyun’s tongue ran over the roof of his mouth, his heartbeat quickened significantly.

Before Doyoung knew it _his_ back was against another tree and Jaehyun rutted up against him. Groans left their lips. Their breaths turned the air around them into little white clouds.

“Fuck, Doyoung,” Jaehyun half moaned when the older reversed their positions again with speedy movements, taking back some control. “You have no idea how much I want you right now.” It was said right against Doyoung’s mouth and the latter felt his head spin. He should stop this - push away and tell Jaehyun to forget this ever happened.

Instead he placed his lips against Jaehyun’s neck, letting his teeth - without fangs - graze the skin.

“I trust you. l think I-”

Suddenly he felt a sting in his upper leg. Confused, Doyoung drew back from the other’s neck. It wasn’t that it hurt, but there was something... He reached down to feel the spot where he felt the prick, only to take out a little dart. He held it in front of his and Jaehyun’s face, watching it with wide eyes.

The realization came too late.

A gunshot followed next.

For some reason Doyoung had closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet to hit his back - he knew he would heal anyway.

What he didn’t expect was for the pain to never come. He opened his eyes to see Jaehyun’s back in front of him, his arms spread; he had just used his vampire speed to reverse their positions and protect him. Doyoung felt paralyzed for a moment, the shot ringing in his ears.

Then the situation hit him hard then and he grabbed Jaehyun’s shoulders to turn him around quickly. Their eyes met instantly, and Jaehyun’s face was contorted in pain.

Doyoung’s eyes widened and he gasped when he saw a red blossom at the front of Jaehyun’s thin jacket.

_He’ll heal, he’ll heal._

Jaehyun collapsed onto him then. When his mouth was next to Doyoung’s ear, he whispered,

“W-wooden bullets. Run.”

A panic so bright blinded the older vampire for a moment. He looked down at Jaehyun’s stomach where blood was now leaking out.

“J-Jae… You- Why did you-?” But Jaehyun shook his head. With a groan, he fell to his knees. Doyoung fell with him and pressed his hand against the wound desperately - anything to stop the bleeding.

“Did I get him?” He heard from not too far away.

“Yeah, I think you did. Let’s get ‘m.“

Doyoung felt adrenaline kicking in, and quickly he slung Jaehyun’s arm over his shoulder. “I’m going to get us out of here now,” he said while trying to use his vampire speed. To his surprise, it didn’t work. Jaehyun became heavier in his hold as well, and he had difficulties keeping them both upright.

What the fuck was happening?

“Jae, I can’t use my speed. Why can’t I use it!?”  He kicked the ground in frustration.

“That’s right, you fucking demon.”

A man with a gun had appeared from behind a tree. Doyoung stopped in his tracks, paralyzed, watching the gun that was pointed at him in horror. The man continued, “We took care of your little powers. Not so strong without them, eh? I can't wait to see you all behind bars.”

Doyoung felt a rage built up in his body and he had to resist the urge to rip the male’s head right from his body. He saw the man’s finger around the trigger tighten. Before he even heard the shot, Jaehyun used _his_ vampire speed to get them away.

A few hundred meters farther they both collapsed on the ground at the bottom of a small hill. Doyoung immediately sought out the younger’s wound again and pressed against it - he got a pained whine in return. The amount of blood was worrying. He bit his lip harshly.

“Why the fuck would you do that!?” Doyoung hissed.

“You’re w-welcome for saving your life,” Jaehyun muttered with a laugh, his breath heavy and his brows furrowed.

“Don’t talk!” Doyoung quickly retorted. “Shit, shit! I can’t get the bullet out like this I-”

Suddenly he felt a hand around his wrist. Doyoung looked at Jaehyun, whose eyes were fluttering shut.

“Go. I can hear them coming. We’ll never make it out together.”

“Shut up!” Doyoung looked away, pressing harder down on the wound - he couldn’t heal it with his own blood, since the wood was still in Jaehyun’s body, making him unable to heal. “Shit, I can’t hear them.”

“Dongyoung, please for once listen to me!” Jaehyun said with raised voice.

Doyoung glared back with tears in his eyes, “And where did your ideas bring us, huh?” His voice softened then, “I’m _not_ leaving you. No chance in hell.”

Jaehyun just huffed and Doyoung quickly brought his hand to his earpiece.

“Tae! Taeyong!”

It took a few seconds for Taeyong to answer. _“Dongyoung? What’s the mat-”_ but Doyoung didn’t have time for futile questions.

“Please help us! They shot Jaehyun. I-” but before he could continue,  a high pitched sound appeared out of nowhere. Doyoung grabbed his head with his hands, pain rippling through his temple.

“They’re c-com-” Jaehyun coughed once, and blood trickled from his mouth. Doyoung frantically tried to lift Jaehyun up, but his powers as a vampire were gone for the moment. With difficulty, he managed to pull Jaehyun up against his own side and hold him by the waist, the other’s arm around his shoulders. It didn’t help that it seemed like there were needles pricking his brain.

_“W-what? Calm down, okay? Where are you right now?”_

Doyoung looked back over his shoulder and he saw a few humans standing on top of the hill, aiming their guns at them. A feeling of fear and hopelessness took control over his body and mind - it felt like a deep pit in his stomach. Without his powers, without Jaehyun being able to walk, it was impossible to escape.

“I don’t know! Please Taeyong, they have wooden bullets and-”

Doyoung probably wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself, but all of a sudden one of the humans used vampire-like speed to come down the hill. Before they could even think of running, the man had set his teeth in Jaehyun’s shoulder.

“NO!”

With a force he didn’t know he had, Doyoung pulled on Jaehyun’s arm - he cried out in pain - and took him out of the man’s grasp. Jaehyun was able to kick the aggressor in his gut. The bite wound on his shoulder was deep and it looked just like…

Like the bite of a werewolf.

Doyoung’s mind was spinning. What in the world?

Then Doyoung was pushed away harshly by none other than his own protégé, who fell to the ground once again right after, hand clutching his shoulder.

“Run. Now!”

Doyoung shook his head multiple times, tears filling up his eyes. The humans were rushing downhill and they had almost closed in on them.

“No.”

“Do-Dongyoung, you can s-save me later. I trust you. I love-”

Another shot.

Jaehyun fell face-forward to the ground.

Mind going blank with rage, Doyoung lunged forward with a scream. However, he was held back by two arms around his waist - Taeyong had arrived.

The next moment went by in a blur; the man with the gun aimed at them, but when he pulled the trigger, the older vampire had already used his vampire speed to take them towards safer ground.

“No!” Doyoung  cried, struggling in the other’s grip. “Yoonoh! Yoonoh…”

He had said it. He had said the forbidden words. And _he_ had left him behind. He couldn’t…

“Oh Dongyoungie…” When they stilled after a while, Doyoung was turned around in the other’s hold. Doyoung immediately started to hit Taeyong’s chest multiple times.

“Why?! Why did you save _me?_ You should’ve-”

Taeyong grabbed his shoulders roughly and with blurry sight Doyoung could see the pained expression on his friend’s face. “I could only take one of you with me! You were the closest. What else could I do?” Taeyong’s voice was filled with emotion and regret. The older quickly pulled Doyoung in a strong embrace, whispering apologies in his ear.

Doyoung - mentally and physically drained - collapsed against his friend then,  grabbing the fabric of his coat and burying his face in his shoulder. “I-” he hiccuped, “I left him behind.” He looked at a shocked Taeyong with tear stricken face, “Please let me go back. I beg you. I need to-”

Taeyong shook his head. “I’m sorry.” he wrapped his arms around Doyoung tighter. “I’m so sorry.”  

Doyoung felt lost.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Taeyong and the other vampire had disappeared, Yuta and Taeil - who had been following them for quite some time  -  shot each other a worried look. Taeil broke the spell and leaned on his thighs with his hands to catch his breath.

“What the fuck was that? Why did they leave all of a sudden?” Yuta hissed irritably. There was something going on and it made him anxious for a reason. And why hadn’t the humans arrived already? What was happening?

“I have no idea,” Taeil panted. “But I _do_ know that I can’t keep this up.” And when Yuta looked at the witch he saw some blood trickle from his nose, an indication that he was overdoing himself. Yuta quickly placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Leave. You’ve done enough for me already. It didn’t turn out like we thought at all.” Taeil looked at him skeptically.

“How will you get back? We’re in the middle of nowhere, remember? No, we’ll finish this. I’m not leaving before your humans have arrived.”

Yuta wasn’t happy with the statement. “For the last time, they’re not _my humans._ I’m not like them.”

Taeil shook his head. “No, you may not have the same intentions, but your actions _are_ like theirs. I know you don’t want to hear it but-”

“What do you think you’re doing in _our_ territorium?”

Their discussion was interrupted and Yuta and Taeil whipped around at the sudden deep and angry voice, both taking on a defensive stance on instinct. It was dark outside, but the almost full moon provided enough light to see the silhouette of the enemy. It was a tall, very tall, man with black hair and dark ripped jeans. Yuta took out the dagger that he kept hidden in his sock and twirled it in his hand. The man stood with his arms spread and slightly bent knees. It was a weird attacking pose for sure.

“The supernatural isn’t welcome here. This area is our pack’s,” the man nearly growled and his eyes shifted to yellow, which surprised Yuta for a moment.

“Shit, it’s a werewolf,” Taeil whispered. Yuta’s eyes widened. Of fucking course witches and vampires weren’t enough creatures for tonight. He gulped. He had never _directly_ dealt with werewolves and right now he had other things on his mind than fighting one.

“H-Hey,” Yuta started, “Can’t we just, like, leave each other alone? We are not trespassing on purpose, we just-”

“I don’t care. You two are not regular humans and you will leave right now, or I’m afraid I will have to use violence.”

Yuta’s eyes darkened at that. There was no way he was leaving now. “Sorry. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” And barely a second later, without hesitation, he threw his dagger towards the werewolf.

The man, however, had great reflexes, and he quickly ducked to the side to avoid contact with the dagger. It was eerily silent after that.

“Wrong move, human, wrong move,” the werewolf growled and he shot them a vicious look, his eyes bright yellow, and his teeth sharp.  

He charged forward in Yuta’s direction and brought his arm down to hit, but Yuta knew how to protect himself and even though it was a powerful hit he could receive it with his arms crossed in front of his face. It shoved him backwards and brought him out of balance slightly. However, before the wolf could attack again, Taeil quickly started chanting a spell with his arms raised.

The werewolf grabbed his head with a groan and shot a vicious look at Taeil, before slowly stumbling towards the witch who kept chanting desperately while taking steps backwards.

He wasn’t quick enough, because the werewolf had reached him and clawed at the witch’s arms so that the spell stopped, with a growl from the taller and a yelp from the smaller, they fell to the ground. Taeil tried to push the wolf off of him, doing his best not to get bitten.

Yuta, in the meantime, had snuck up on the werewolf and just wanted to push him off of Taeil, before the other male spoke.

“Touch me and this one is dead.”

Yuta stiffened when the wolf looked at him while straddling Taeil’s hips and holding his wrists pinned to the ground. His eyes were bright yellow and serious.

“I’m serious. Don’t come closer or I will kill him.”

“Fine! What do you want me to do!” Yuta yelled. But the wolf’s attention was on Taeil.

“Try a spell and I’ll break your wrists.”

Taeil let out an annoyed huff. Yuta was surprised at how relaxed the older male looked while being in a deathly situation. He, on the other hand, felt incredibly anxious. He had no idea what to do.

But apparently Taeil did.

“You’re not going to kill me,” the witch suddenly said, resolutely. The werewolf narrowed his eyes and brought his face closer to the witch’s.

“And why do you think that?”

“I can see it in your eyes, you don’t like to kill. And just so you know, I’m from the Seoul clan.” The tall man was obviously caught off guard by that bit of information. With confidence Taeil continued, “Let me and my stupid friend go and we’ll leave. Quietly. Nobody has to get hurt.”

Before Yuta could protest, Taeil shot him a glare and continued, “We’re not looking for a fight, we’re just here to observe. I’m not a killer either.” Taeil nodded to Yuta, “And despite popular beliefs, neither is he.”

The wolf hesitated for a long moment, - contemplating what would be the best option - before sighing and releasing Taeil, who stood up slowly as the other stepped away, eyes narrowed and wary but no longer filled with violence. Yuta watched the scene in awe. Taeil certainly knew how to get himself out of difficult situations.

“Don’t come back to these woods,” the wolf bit out. “And before you go, I want to know who you are.” His eyes had turned to a normal hue again and his teeth had disappeared.

“I’m Taeil, as I've mentioned witch of the Seoul clan. And that,” he said while pointing to Yuta, “Is Yuta, a human.”

The male’s demeanor changed at that and he stretched out his hand to Taeil, “I’m Johnny, Alpha and leader of the Dark Forest pack. Seoul clan, huh? That’s impressive. My mother once taught me to respect that clan in particular. I have no intention of receiving the wrath from a whole clan by killing one of their members.”

The corners of Taeil’s mouth turned up slightly, “How smart of you. Nice to meet you, Johnny.”

Then the wolf called Johnny walked over to Yuta and shook his hand as well. It was rough and a little sweaty, but the male’s eyes had something friendly.

“So you’re a human? I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Yuta nodded, “Yeah… Don’t worry, we’ll leave as soon as we’re done with-”   

Voices from afar interrupted them.

“I swear the sound was coming from there!”

“Let’s go look. Get your weapons ready lads!”

Human voices.

Yuta, Taeil and Johnny all looked to the left where the noise was coming from. Complete silence had fallen over them, the only hearable thing the rustling of the leaves by the wind - like the calm before the storm.

_Fuck. Of all times, why now? I can’t be seen. Shit!_

Yuta could only see the barrel of a huge gun, before an invisible force hit his side harshly. He was flung to the side, through some bushes and trees, until his back hit the base of a big tree. All the air was punched from his lungs and he stilled on the muddy, leaf-covered, ground.

A series of loud voices made Yuta open his eyes again and he lifted his head from the ground, still dizzy from the impact. He pushed himself up in a kneeling position with his hands and groaned when he felt his back. Luckily nothing was broken, but it would surely result in some nasty bruises. Not to mention, it hurt a lot.

He instantly knew Taeil had just protected him from being seen. Because Taeil knew too; if the humans would see Yuta, everything would be over. Every possibility of saving Hansol, or anyone else for that matter, would disappear like snow on a sunny day.

The thought of Taeil, standing alone with the werewolf against the humans, exhausted from his previous spell, was enough for Yuta to quickly get up on his feet and stumble towards the fighting sounds he could hear in the distance.

It wasn’t far, and he quickly hid behind a big tree, sneaking a look at the happenings.

Taeil and the Johnny were back to back in the middle of the field, panting heavily and surrounded by not more than ten humans. They had guns.

But that wasn’t what surprised him the most. Because when he laid eyes on Hansol standing between the humans - without restraints - total confusion made way into his mind. There was something about the witch’s eyes that scared him - they were empty. He looked like a living corpse.

One of the men spoke up. “I thought Sooman said we would be capturing vamps. Not a werewolf and a…”

“Witch,” Hansol said emotionlessly while watching a shocked Taeil. “The other is a witch.”

“Hansol? Is that you? What are you doing?” Taeil yelled, not getting why his friend was standing with the enemy. Hansol ignored him.

The man grinned and aimed his gun at the pair in the middle. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

And then everyone came into action.

Yuta watched the fight between the humans and Taeil and Johnny. The two supernatural beings had teamed up against the aggressors and they were strong. The backed each other up and attacked in turns. But soon enough it became clear that they didn’t stand a chance. It was ten against two, guns against powers. Yes, Taeil had managed to fling away some of the wooden bullets, but a few came through and Johnny got hit in the leg.

He screamed and Yuta averted his gaze for a moment.

And then there was Hansol, who seemed to be a completely different person. His eyes looked dull, his stance relaxed, too relaxed. Like that, he flicked his wrist and Yuta watched in horror how Taeil was flung backwards right against the base of a tree. He fell to the ground and stayed still.

Yuta felt the urge to do something. Anything. He wanted to help his friend so badly.

Instead he just balled his fists and gritted his teeth.

What could he start against them? If he could, he would’ve done something, but he was just a mere human. Against guns he too didn’t stand a chance. If the humans would see him, they would kill him on the spot anyway. Because, in fact, he _was_ a traitor. Nobody would benefit from all of them getting captured or killed. Someone had to get away to save the others. So, with overflowing guilt Yuta watched how Hansol picked up an unconscious Taeil and how they dragged away the werewolf. He looked away, his eyes stinging.

When the humans left, - they didn’t expect anyone else to be there - Yuta sank to his knees, hands clutched in the wet mud. Taeil was gone, taken while protecting _him._ And then there were the vampires. He had no idea what happened to them, whether they were captured or not.

Eventually, with shaking legs, Yuta got up from the ground. The current situation hit him hard. He had no idea where he was. Where to go. How to get home. Tears of frustration threatened to escape from his eyes and he started running towards which way he thought was the right one. It didn’t help that flashbacks from meetings with Taeyong and Taeil kept flashing through his mind as a cruel reminder of his own stupidity.

He should’ve never contacted the humans. Hell, he should’ve never gone to Baekhyun all those years ago. He should’ve stayed an ignorant human, not knowing about the supernatural. He should’ve started over when he got the chance instead of making things more complicated and involving himself and others in dangerous situations.

He should’ve just stayed the human Nakamoto Yuta from Osaka, instead of losing a part of his humanity by becoming a liar and a coward.

If that all wasn’t enough, in the darkness of the woods, Yuta stumbled over something heavy on the ground and he fell face forward to the earth.

“God damn it,“ Yuta huffed, supporting himself on his hands to come upright again. His whole body hurt. Angrily, he looked over his shoulder to see what he had tripped over.

Nothing could’ve prepared him for the sight of a girl, neck covered in blood, eyes open, but obviously not breathing.

Not living.

Yuta had never scrambled up as fast as then, almost tripping over his own feet as he stared at the body. It was obviously the work of a vampire. He covered his mouth in a shocked state and in his panic he turned his head to all sides, looking for the possible killer.

_Breathe, Yuta, Breathe. It’s just a body._

The thing was… Yuta had never seen a real body before. He made sure he was never part of the group that executed the killings. He was just there to hack, help strategize. Yes, he knew how to fight, had fought before, but never to the death.

He had no idea what to do. Leave? Bury her? Throw up first? He decided he would go with the first option. There was no way he could -or wanted to- bury her. Yuta looked at the body. Her blond hair covered a part of her face and the deep brown eyes stared into nothingness, her mouth slightly open as if words had been leaving her mouth when she died. Yuta closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths before taking some unsteady steps towards the dead girl. He kneeled down and gently closed her eyes. It was the least he could do.

“I didn’t mean to kill her.”

Yuta whipped around so fast that his surrounding spun. His eyes were immediately drawn to a man, between two trees, slowly making his way towards him. He was young, tall, thin… And Yuta would probably have thought he was beautiful, wasn’t it for the red eyes that were trained on him and the blood around his mouth, the red liquid dripping on the ground.

It was Taeyong’s friend.

Yuta felt the hairs on his neck stand up and he rose to his feet, walking backwards slowly. This couldn’t be good.

The vampire strode closer. “I really didn’t mean to… But her blood was just _so_ good.“ He stopped in front of the girl and kneeled down next to her, brushing the hair from her face. “Don’t worry,” The red eyes were on Yuta again, “she didn’t scream.” He sniffed the air then. “Uwaa, you smell amazing.”

The way the vampire talked was low and slow, as if he was in a trance. The blood red of the other’s irises ignited a fear in Yuta, which he had never felt before. He didn’t stop taking steps backwards. He recognized the voice. Taeyong’s warnings rang through his mind.

_“Stay silent. If he hears you, you’re dead.”_

_“No word, no breath, nothing. Understood?” “He has a very good sense of smell.”_

“I wonder how your blood tastes… I promise I will just take a drop, nothing more.” The vampire stood up and dusted off his pants. Then, to Yuta’s fear, the other sent him a wicked grin.

That was the moment Yuta started to run.

The first steps were with his eyes still on the vampire, but soon enough, he started to sprint away, through bushes and trees, not minding the scratches that the branches left behind on his hands and face. He felt like he had landed in a horror movie and in his panic he almost tripped over his own feet a few times. He needed to get as far away from him as possible.

After running for minutes he finally came to a temporarily halt, his hands supporting on his thighs. He looked over his shoulder.

There was nothing. No vampire. Apparently he had been able to get away. It relieved him more than it probably should.

However, his relief was short-lived when he looked back in front of him and was met with the smile of the vampire. Yuta wanted to scream, his heartbeat increasing tenfold. He tried to walk backwards quickly, but before he could, his wrists were grabbed.

The voice of the vampire came out playfully. “Now I’ve got you.”

 

 

* * *

 

“Taeyong! Let me go!” Doyoung yelled desperately, trying to struggle free from his friend’s hold. But Taeyong couldn’t. So instead, he took the younger to an abandoned parking lot at the edge of the woods and pushed him down to sit on a concrete road barrier. It was a hard task since Doyoung was doing everything he could to go back.

Back to Jaehyun.

“Stop it, Dongyoung! They have guns, and if it's true what you told me, they have freaking mutant powers... You’ll only get yourself killed. I am not going to let you!”

Doyoung gave him such a hateful look that it took his breath away. But he stayed seated eventually.

“I told you,” Doyoung started quietly but threateningly. “I fucking told you this would happen. But nobody ever listens to me. I trusted you all, but it was a big fat mistake.”

A gut-twisting feeling took hold of Taeyong and he temporarily closed his eyes. How could they have been so stupid?

How could _he_ have been so stupid?

“I need to go back, Taeyong.” There was a crack in his friend’s voice, making it raw and desperate. Taeyong still held him back when Doyoung wanted to stand up.

“I can’t let you. Please understand.”

“I hate you.”

It was the most hurtful thing Doyoung had ever said to him in their long history together, and instantly Taeyong felt his throat close up, making him unable to say anything back.

There followed a silence after that in which Doyoung had buried his head in his hands and Taeyong’s hands were still on his friend’s shoulder in case he wanted to bolt away again.

“H-Hyung!”

Both Doyoung and Taeyong turned around to the source of the voice. There, in the light of a flickering lamp post, Sicheng was standing, chest heaving, eyes unreadable.

Blood on his face and clothes.

“I can’t do this,” Doyoung whispered brokenly.

The Chinese vampire came closer and Taeyong noticed his dilated pupils. It didn’t feel right. There was something wrong. Sicheng alternated his gaze between Taeyong and Doyoung.

“Where’s Jaehyun? W-why did you…”

Doyoung interrupted him with a bitter laugh. “He’s gone, Sicheng. They took him.” Taeyong looked back at his friend to see him trembling. He saw an almost crazy look in his eyes as he watched his own hands, as if those were to blame for Jaehyun’s capture. “Ha, they took him. They took him, they took my Jaehyunnie. I-”

“Snap out of it, Dongyoung!” Taeyong said, grabbing his friend’s shoulders and shaking him. “We’ll get him back. I- I promise you that. I swear it on my life!”

“No, no…” Sicheng whimpered, “No, he can’t be gone! This is a joke, right?” A pause. “Right?”

Taeyong felt torn on who to comfort, while his own heart - even though technically not beating - ached. Jaehyun’s dimpled, playful smile flashed through his mind. He didn’t want to think about what was happening to him right now. He couldn’t, or he would lose every bit of self composure. He quickly cupped Doyoung’s face and forced their foreheads together. Teary eyes met teary eyes and Taeyong spoke softly, praying his voice sounded stable enough.

“We will get him back at all costs. He’s a part of us and we won’t abandon him. We’ll make sure to make them pay, okay? But we need each other in order to do that. Don’t leave… Don’t leave me, Dongyoung.”

Doyoung closed his eyes as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. His teeth were gritted together, but he still nodded, albeit stiffly. It hurt to see his best friend - his brother - like this.

Taeyong let go then and quickly turned to Sicheng, who was on his knees on an empty parking space, wiping his hands and face almost frenziedly with the sleeves of his jacket - he just wanted the blood to be gone. Taeyong kneeled next to him. But before he could say something comforting, Sicheng spoke,

“I think I killed two people.”

An icy blanket covered Taeyong’s heart at the words. His own voice came out wavering.

“A-are you sure?”

Sicheng didn’t even dare to look at him. “One- one for sure, the other- I-” He stubbornly rubbed his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I disappointed you, Doyoung-hyung, Jaehyun-hyung… It hurts, hyung, it hurts so much-”

Taeyong dragged a hand down his face, tears welling up in his eyes. He did this. It was his fault for leaving Sicheng behind with the human. His fault that they had gone to the woods in the first place. And his fault that Doyoung and Sicheng were hurting. He softly touched Sicheng’s cheek with his hand, before standing up with balled fists. He had to stay strong in front of them.

“Then I’m going to check on the humans. To see If they’re still alive…” Sicheng’s head shot up at that. Taeyong continued, “You two stay here.” He turned to Doyoung. “Please. Keep an eye on Sicheng.” Doyoung nodded curtly, anger and frustration still visible in his eyes.

With that Taeyong used his vampire speed to go back into the woods.

It wasn’t hard to find the corpse. Since their senses as vampires were heightened, the smell was more than obvious. He still knelt down next to the girl to check her pulse. You could never be sure enough.

There was none.

“Oh, Sichengie,” Taeyong whispered. With gritted teeth he walked over to a nearby tree and punched the wooden base. Right after he clutched his hand against his chest when the skin broke. It was quickly healed by his own healing abilities. Taeyong felt like a hopeless leader. Sicheng could be ruthless, sure. But Taeyong knew that he was a very sensitive person as well, with lots of compassion. Guilt easily messing with his mind. This would haunt his protegé for a long time. And it was all _his_ fault. Instead of helping him, he had turned the younger into a killer.

Without hope he continued his journey through the bushes and trees - there, where the smell of blood was leading him to. Taeyong crossed his fingers.

But the closer he came the more he recognised the peculiar smell. Yuta’s face flashed through his mind. Taeyong shook his head stubbornly. The events were making him feel and experience things that weren’t there. Right?

“Get a fucking grip on yourself, Taeyong.”

It didn’t take long to find the other body. It was a male this time, lying face first on the ground, blood trickling from the puncture wounds on his neck.  Slowly he closed in on the male, sitting down next to him.

“Please be alive,” he whispered to the night sky as he put two fingers against the man’s neck.

He gasped when he felt it. It was faint, but definitely there. This one was alive. Taeyong quickly came into action and turned the male around to give him some of his blood.

He stilled his movements when his eyes met the pretty, but dirty face of the one person he didn’t want to see here.

Yuta.

The wind ruffled Taeyong’s pink strands in all possible directions, rustling the leaves in the trees, creating an almost spooky atmosphere. The silence was unbearable in a way.

He didn’t want to believe it. He refused to believe that Yuta was here. Why would he-?

_“W-We’re planning on going to the woods in three days.”_

_“Why are you telling me this?”_ A question that had sounded desperate and almost laced with guilt...

No…

It couldn’t be, right?

But Yuta was the only one who knew. He was the only one aware of their mission. This couldn’t be a coincidence.

The realization was like a punch in his gut and Taeyong crawled backwards. Had everything been a lie? When they made out, had it been fake? When he flirted, was it only to get close to him?

All the emotions flooded the centuries-old vampire at once; Jaehyun’s abduction, Sicheng’s killing, his self-loathing and Yuta’s betrayal, all of those were suddenly so overwhelming that he straddled Yuta’s hips with a growl  and wrapped his hands around his delicate neck. He wanted to squeeze so badly, to make him pay…

But he couldn’t.

Tears escaped his eyes unwillingly and they fell down on Yuta’s cheeks. “How could you do this to me?” He asked. “How!?” He demanded in a yell. The human obviously didn’t answer in his unconscious state, which frustrated Taeyong even more. With an angry cry he eventually rolled off of Yuta, pulling his own hair.

He remembered the moment he tattooed him, carefully inking his skin with pink and brown. He remembered the kiss they shared in his tattoo shop. A kiss he himself had initiated, because there was something about this boy that made him unable to ignore the feelings that threatened to invade his body.

Taeyong took a deep breath, eyes skimming over the human’s form. He was in a bad state, that much was obvious. He knew he should leave him here. However, there was still a part of him that wanted to believe in the human’s innocence. Maybe there was an explanation…

He pierced his own skin of his wrist with his teeth and brought it to Yuta’s mouth. The lack of drinking worried Taeyong slightly, but just the blood entering his mouth was enough to heal him enough to stay alive.

After that, he scooped the human up in his arms. For a moment he watched Yuta’s face. Even in this battered state, he looked almost flawless; sharp features and soft skin. He felt his eyes turn red for a moment, but quickly shook his head.

“Please, prove me wrong,” he whispered, before using his vampire speed to disappear into the night with Yuta in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _vampires can be killed when wood pierces their heart. They can't heal with wood in their bodies._
> 
> Thank you if you’re still reading this after the long break <3 Uwaa it’s my first time writing something more action-y , but it was quite enjoyable (even though it was super challenging). I really hoped you liked it and I would really appreciate it if you left a comment:) 
> 
> If there are scenes you didn’t really get or if you have any other questions regarding characters or the plot, don’t be afraid to ask! Also if you notice mistakes or something just let me know:) I’m sorry if this wasn’t what you were hoping for - there will be more YuTae interactions next chapter.
> 
> for the ones who are wondering how the ‘vampire speed’ (it’s called superspeed, but I honestly thought that sounded lame so…) looks like, click [this](http://vampirediaries.wikia.com/wiki/Super_Speed)
> 
> ~honEy D | hit me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/softyukkuri)


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